Moore Stephens sells Reader's Digest to Jon Moulton business
Jon Moulton's Better capital vehicle buys Reader's Digest - but pension liability stays within the old company structure
Reader’s Digest has been bought out of administration in the UK by a private
equity vehicle owned by Jon Moulton.
Better Capital’s BECAP fund backed a management buyout of the business in a
deal worth £13m.
Administrators from
Moore
Stephens had been appointed in February to the UK arm of the
business after plans to deal with its pension liability fell through.
The £125m pension liability will remain in the “old” company, with
discussions on how to deal with it to continue between the
Pensions
Regulator, the
Pension
Protection Fund and the administrators.
The UK arm will have no bank debt through the deal, and publish the magazine
through a licensing deal with its US counterpart.
“It’s rare to have an opportunity to back a dynamic management team to run a
business with the heritage and brand strength of Reader’s Digest,” said Mark
Aldridge, CEO of Better Capital.
Further reading:
Readers
Digest US parent could be held liable for UK pensions deficit