North Equity Announces Acquisition of Iconic Brands Including Popular Science, Saveur, Outdoor Life and Field & Stream - PRNewswire

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- North Equity, a leading digital media venture equity firm, today announced that it has acquired a number of media brands from Bonnier Corporation. The acquisition includes Popular Science, Popular Photography, Saveur, Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Better You and Interesting Things.

The additions complement North Equity's robust home platform, where Saveur will join BobVila.com and Kitchenistic to form a new food category. They will also create a new specialty media vertical under Popular Science and Popular Photography, and expand North's growing footprint in the military, tactical and outdoor verticals, where it recently added Task & Purpose, one of the leading digital media properties for active-duty military and veterans.

"Since inception, the North team has proved our ability to acquire, reimagine and profitably grow media brands," said Andrew Perlman, North Equity Managing Partner. "We have accomplished this by working with the teams at each brand to deliver high-quality, meaningful content and build innovative, sustainable business models. We're excited to have the opportunity to add such venerable brands to our portfolio and look forward to working with the amazing people behind them."

The brands being acquired include three 100-plus-year-old publications—Popular Science, Outdoor Life and Field & Stream—and represent some of the most trusted voices in science, outdoor and food. Collectively, they engage nearly 10 million monthly online unique visitors, another 15 million followers on social media, and have 1.7 million loyal print subscribers.

"Bonnier has been the proud owner of Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Popular Science and Saveur for more than a decade. These brands exhibit a tremendous amount of authority in their genres and have earned the trust of their readers, and we're excited that North Equity recognizes the value these brands have in the marketplace," said David Ritchie, chief executive officer, Bonnier Corp. "We believe North Equity is best-positioned to continue to invest in and grow these iconic legacy brands."

North Equity is committed to developing high-quality, trusted content, while empowering media brands and content creators to scale audience and engagement. North will be applying its proprietary operating model and technology platform—which have resulted in profitable, triple-digit year-over-year traffic and revenue growth in its home and auto platforms, which includes BobVila.com and The Drive—to grow the legacy of the acquired brands and position them to thrive into the future.

Baker McKenzie and Bailey Duquette advised North on this transaction.

About North Equity

North Equity LLC is a venture equity firm that acquires, builds and scales transformative digital media brands using a proprietary combination of operational, data and technology expertise. The portfolio currently focuses on the automotive, home and military verticals, and includes The Drive, BobVila.com, The War Zone and Task & Purpose, among others. Since acquisition, these brands have been strategically building market-leading positions, optimizing cash flow, and transforming their category in the digital content landscape. North's investment team has extensive experience in the intersection of technology, data, and media as private investors and operators. North, based in Miami with offices in San Francisco and New York, will continue making strategic acquisitions across the digital-media and technology landscape.

About Bonnier Corp.

Bonnier Corp. is an American enthusiast media company with iconic multichannel brands extending into all platforms, including magazines, digital media, events and product licensing. Bonnier Corp.'s brands include Yachting, Flying, Sailing World, Salt Water Sportsman and Working Mother. Other business subsidiaries include Bonnier Events, a full-service promotion and events group, and Working Mother Media's diversity and inclusion consulting group. Bonnier Corp. is owned by Sweden-based Bonnier AB, a globally operating media conglomerate.

SOURCE North Equity