Wed, 20 Mar 2013 | BUSINESS SALE
The sale of the Lonely Planet travel guide business has been confirmed, with US-based NC2 Media stepping up to buy the business.
The company has agreed to sell the business for £51.5 million, almost £80 million less than it originally paid for it. Indeed, the firm has lost 60 per cent of the company's value since it acquired it in two chunks in 2007 and 2011.
Paul Dempsey, the interim chief executive of BBC Worldwide, commented on the sale: "We acquired Lonely Planet in 2007 when both our strategy and the market conditions were quite different. Since then, Lonely Planet has increased its presence in digital, magazine publishing and emerging markets whilst also growing its global market share, despite difficult economic conditions.
"However, we have also recognised that it no longer fits with our plans to put BBC brands at the heart of our business and have decided to sell the company to NC2 Media who are better placed to build and invest in the business."
Reports from Worldwide state that no BBC licence fee money was used in the purchase of the business, but the acquisition was and is still controversial in that it represented the company's first foray into buying businesses and has proved to be something of a failure in terms of returning profits.
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BBC Worldwide set to sell Lonely Planet
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