UBM Finds Buyer for Data Services Portfolio

UK-based B2B media company UBM has sold its portfolio of Data Services businesses to private equity fund manager Electra Partners, for a consideration of £160m including a £40m vendor loan note.

The mainly subscription-based data business includes Vidal, which provides drug information to physicians, as well as technology industry specialist Techinsights; import/export analyst Piers; and air transport specialist OAG.

Electra's offers fall short of reports last September, which said UBM was planning to put the business up for sale with a price tag of around £250m. Upon completion of the deal, the cash consideration of approximately £100m will be used to repay bank debt.

David Levin (pictured), CEO of UBM, comments: 'By divesting Delta we simplify UBM's business, improve the quality of our earnings, enhance our underlying growth rates and remove the challenges inherent in the continued transition to digital data delivery. We can now look forward to focusing on further developing UBM as a fast-growing and increasingly profitable events-led, marketing services and communications business.'

Web site: www.ubm.com .