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In(de)cisive Media? ALM Reclaims Its Name
(Or: Which industry is more troubled, law or media?)

Friday, September 4, 2009 1:08 PM - By David Lat

Incisive Media American Lawyer Media ALM.jpgGawker reports that Incisive Media — the legal media giant behind the American Lawyer magazine, Law.com, and many other excellent and influential print and online publications — is taking back its old name: American Lawyer Media (ALM).

ALM adopted the Incisive moniker back in 2007, after being acquired by Incisive Media for $630 million. Incisive itself was acquired in 2006 by Apax Partners, a private equity firm.

The full memo about the ALM rebranding appears after the jump. Here’s the most interesting part:

While we will continue to be majority-owned by funds advised by Apax Partners, our lender, Royal Bank of Scotland, will swap a portion of its existing ALM debt for a 49% equity stake in the company and become a minority owner of ALM.

Turning over almost half of the equity in the company to a lender — that doesn’t sound good, does it?

But there’s more to the story here.

This rebranding is actually part of a larger restructuring. From Paid Content:

B2B publisher Incisive Media’s private equity backer is splitting the business in two, FT.com reports.

Apax Partners, which owns 59 percent of Incisive, will take full control of its US-based American Lawyer Media portfolio of magazines, websites and events, which Incisive bought for $630 million (£387 million) in 2007.

Apax is investing another $15 million (£9.2 million) into the spun-out unit as part of a debt restructuring drive - as a result of a debt-for-equity swap with Royal Bank of Scotland, the unit’s debt falls from $450 million to $300 million, according to FT.com.

So American Lawyer Media — despite having problems of its own, such as layoffs — is the healthier part of the company. At least it’s the part of the company that Apax wants to keep.

But that doesn’t mean ALM has been a great investment for Apax thus far. From efinancialnews.com:

Apax Partners’ losses on its investments in magazine publishers Incisive Media and American Lawyer Media are in the region of $150 million (EUR105 million) it emerged today, marking a rare loss for one of Europe’s most highly regarded buyout firms.

The firm, which has lost control of Incisive and had its equity in ALM cut, is estimated to have so far recorded a combined loss of about GBP60 million ($98 million) on Incisive and $50 million on ALM, according to Financial News calculations.

A $50 million loss? Ouch. The media business is probably one of the few industries more troubled than the legal profession. The challenges faced by the media, especially print media, appear to be more profound and existential than those faced by law firms.

This might explain why print reporters are abandoning the newsroom for the classroom. Here’s an explanation by Steve Kiehl, formerly a reporter with the Baltimore Sun, of his decision to head off to law school at the University of Maryland:

Looking back on my last year in journalism, I’ve struggled to identify that turning point, that moment when I decided to give up what had been my lifelong passion and pursue another career. Was it when I registered for the LSAT last summer? When I spent hundreds of dollars on application fees to law schools last fall, or when I sent in a seat deposit this spring?

When did a hypothetical exploration of leaving journalism become my real life?

…. I would not be going to law school if newspapers were healthy, if I believed that journalism could support into the future a sizable group of people making a decent living doing it. Perhaps it was a happy accident that newspapers in the second half of the 20th century could employ a large professional workforce, could give people the means to buy decent homes in nice neighborhoods, send their kids to college and take pride in their work. I no longer believe that is the case.

Readers, what do you think? Who’s more screwed: journalists, or lawyers?

P.S. We do not consider ourselves exempt from the troubles of the news business. If you’d like to support ATL through advertising on the site or sponsoring an event, please email advertising@breakingmedia.com. Thanks!

INCISIVE MEDIA / AMERICAN LAWYER MEDIA — MEMORANDUM — RENAMING AND REBRANDING

TO: All Employees
FROM: Bill Pollak
RE: A New Beginning

As you may be aware, today the press has reported a restructuring and rebranding of the company. As a result of new agreements signed by our owners and lenders, we will once again become an independent, standalone company, with our own management, board of directors and financing, operating under the ALM brand. While the agreements are pending regulatory approval in the U.K., we expect to make a formal announcement next week.

While we will continue to be majority-owned by funds advised by Apax Partners, our lender, Royal Bank of Scotland, will swap a portion of its existing ALM debt for a 49% equity stake in the company and become a minority owner of ALM.

Although we have a new name and structure, our business positions are fundamentally unchanged. ALM remains the leading provider of current legal news and information in the largest legal marketplace in the world. Despite the severity of the commercial real estate downturn, our publications have retained their leading market share in their sector and GlobeSt.com has strengthened its position as the leading online provider of news and information in that arena.

Coming new product introductions will broaden our reach in the legal information marketplace and our investments in digital technology
are already bearing fruit. And, as the media world moves to a greater reliance on paid content and more sophisticated advertising and sponsorship models, ALM is well-positioned for future success.

Incisive Media in the U.K. will continue under the Incisive brand, headed by Tim Weller, and will retain ownership of the ClickZ/SEW/SES businesses, which will no longer report to ALM management. Between now and the end of the year, we will transition the separation of our shared infrastructure and operations from Incisive Media and complete the rebranding of our company as ALM. In addition, we are currently discussing a formal content-sharing agreement with Incisive which will enable us to continue to collaborate with Legal Week and other properties.

I’m sure that many of you may have questions regarding the restructuring and rebranding, and their impact on your job and your customers. To help answer them, I’m attaching an FAQ document covering key issues.

As always, feel free to contact me directly if you have additional questions or issues.

Bill

William L. Pollak
CEO - North America
incisivemedia

(Gavel bang for title: Gawker commenter.)

Incisive Media Is Now ALM, Again [Gawker]
Apax and banks move to split Incisive Media [FT via Paid Content]
Financial News: Apax Makes Rare $150M Loss On Media Companies [efinancialnews via Wall Street Journal]
After 10 Years, Why I Left [crumbler]
Afternoon Journalism Depression [On the Record]

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Posted in: Incisive Media , Media and Journalism, Money, Private Equity

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