Washington - Reader`s Digest Association Inc, which publishes one of the world`s oldest most widely circulated international magazines, is being sold to an investor group led by Ripplewood Holdings for 1.6 billion dollars, the publisher said in a statement Thursday.
The magazine publishes 18 million copies a month and reaches about 80 million readers in multiple languages, but has lost market share in advertising and revenue in the US, Bloomberg financial news service reported.
Reader`s Digest investors are to receive 17 dollars a share, a 9.6 percent premium over Wednesday`s closing price, the Pleasantville, New York-based company said.
The six-buyer group, which includes J Rothschild Group and Merrill Lynch Capital Corp, will take on 800 million dollars in debt.
Ripplewood Holdings already owns World Alamanac and Weekly Reader.