ACP mega magazine ten year print tender

Over $80 million of print per year from 2013 is up for grabs as Ian Law, CEO PBL Media, asks printers to bid for all the magazine industry crown jewels.

In a move that will radically transform the heatset web market, Law is asking the major print groups to tender for all ACP magazines in Australia for a period of ten years. Printing of the titles, which include market leaders The Australian Women’s Weekly and Woman’s Day, is currently split between PMP (approx 60%), Blue Star (38%) and IPMG (2%).

Current print contracts run to 2013, which is also the latest time a public float of the company could take place before its PE debt is refinanced. In addition to the largest magazine company in Australia, PBL Media, formerly the Packer media empire, owns the Nine Network of east coast television stations, regional TV network NBN and Ticketek, among other interests.

The announcement of the ten-year tender follows the success of Blue Star in winning ACP’s $16 million New Zealand business from PMP and APN. It comes in the wake of Law abandoning his plan to build a $150 million greenfield printing and distribution facility for ACP in Sydney.

“We are now confident that our future production requirements can be met by a number of suppliers at a very competitive rate,” Law said.