IDG publications, analyst firm IDC and venture capital firm IDG Ventures are included in the deal
China Oceanwide Holdings Group and China-based IDG Capital have agreed to acquire tech journalism pioneer International Data Group, publisher of PCWorld, Computerworld, and hundreds of other tech publications worldwide.
Tech analyst firm IDC and venture capital firm IDG Ventures are included in the deal, announced Thursday. The size of the deal was not officially released, although a Wall Street Journal story put the price at less than US $1 billion.
IDG, a privately held company, operates in 97 countries. It was founded in 1964 by Patrick McGovern, who died in March 2014. Since then, the company has been run by a board of directors, which has been seeking a buyer for about a year.
IDG brands also include CIO, Macworld, InfoWorld, CSO, Network World, CMO and IDG.tv. IDG is also the parent company of the IDG News Service.
China Oceanwide is a privately held international conglomerate founded by Chairman Zhiqiang Lu in 1985. The company operates businesses in the financial services, real estate assets, media, technology, and strategic investment markets, and it has more than 12,000 employees globally.
The company purchased a stake in Lenovo's parent company, Legend Holdings, in 2009. It has continued to expand globally and in October last year, it agreed to buy U.S.-based insurance firm Genworth Financial for for $2.7 billion in cash.
China Oceanwide sees media as a new area for investments, according to its web site. IDG is a "natural extension" of China Oceanwide's international portfolio, Lu said in a press release. "As a world leader in market research and insights, a publisher of many of the tech industry's most established media brands, and a successful venture investor, IDG's strong global brand and profile make for an attractive strategic investment for us."
IDG Capital is an independently operated investment management partnership, with IDG as one of many limited partners. It was formed in 1993 as China’s first technology venture investment firm.
The sale will continue McGovern's vision of IDG, said Hugo Shong, founding general partner of IDG Capital and chairman of IDG Greater China.
"IDG’s culture is at the core of its success, and its strength has always been rooted in the talent and dedication of its people," he said in a press release. "Our focus going forward will be on investing in the company and its people for growth over the long term, as we carry the flag for Pat's legacy for many years to come."
The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of this year, has received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. government body, the companies said.
When the deal closes, China Oceanwide will become the controlling shareholder of IDG's operating businesses, including IDC and IDG Communications, while IDG Capital will become the controlling shareholder of the IDG venture business.
IDG will continue to be headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and managed by its current team. Kirk Campbell will continue as president and CEO of IDC, and Michael Friedenberg will continue as CEO of IDG Communications. A new board of directors will be appointed.
In this latest episode of our Conversations over a Cuppa with CMO series, we catch up with Jane Power, who stepped into the director of marketing and transformation role at GenesisCare in April 2020.
Understanding the core principles of Behavioural Economics will give players in the travel industry a major competitive advantage when restrictions lift and travellers begin to book again. And there are a few insights in here for the rest of the marketing community, too.
Unicorns, the Sunken City of Atlantis, Zeus: They are very famous. So famous in fact, that we often think twice about whether they are real or not. Sometimes if we talk about something widely enough, and for long enough, even the strangest fiction can seem like fact. But ultimately it is still fiction - stories we make up and tell ourselves over and over until we believe.
At a time of uncertainty and economic hardship, customer retention takes on much greater importance. CX Lavender’s Linda O’Grady examines the big grey area between ‘all’ and ‘best’ customers when deciding who is worth fighting for and how.
looking for the best quality of SMM Panel ( Social Media Marketing Panel ) is a website where People Buy Social Media Services Such as Fa...
Kavin kyzal
How to manage social media during Covid-19
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Definitely bookmarked for future reading! Check this website https://a2designlab.com/ with lots of ...
Pierce Fabreverg
Study: Gen Z are huge opportunity for brands
Thanks for sharing. You might want to check this website https://lagimcardgame.com/. An up and coming strategic card game wherein the cha...
Pierce Fabreverg
Board games distributor partners with Deliveroo in business strategy pivot
Such an important campaign, dyslexia certainly need more awareness. Amazing to see the work Code Read is doing. On the same note we are a...
Hugo
New campaign aims to build understanding around scope and impact of dyslexia
Great Job on this article! It demonstrates how much creativity, strategy and effort actually goes to produce such unique logo and brandin...
Pierce Fabreverg
Does your brand need a personality review? - Brand vision - CMO Australia