Meredith Corporation announced an agreement in principle with author and television personality Rachael Ray for Meredith to acquire “Every Day with Rachael Ray” magazine and its related digital media assets. The seller is the Reader’s Digest Association.
The acquisition will include the successful and award-winning magazine that’s published 10 times annually and reaches an audience of 7.3 million with a ratebase of 1.7 million, as well as a robust website (www.rachaelraymag.com).
“The acquisition of Every Day with Rachael Ray will further extend our leadership and deepen our reach in providing women with best-in-class food content, while offer advertisers multiple avenues to reach them,” said Meredith National Media Group President Tom Harty. “We are excited to add this well-recognized franchise to our strong portfolio of national media brands.”
“Everything to me is about family and I am so excited that Every Day with Rachael Ray will now be joining the Meredith family,” said Rachael Ray. “We are very proud to have established a loyal following by creating a new perspective in the food space with our magazine. I look forward to growing it with my new partner Meredith – a company I’ve admired for a long time.”
Financial terms of the agreement will not be disclosed, and the acquisition will not have material effect on Meredith’s fiscal 2012 performance, the company said.
“We are constantly looking for strategic acquisitions and investment opportunities like this to expand our reach and create shareholder value,” said Meredith Chief Development Officer John Zieser.
RBR-TVBR observation: Obviously this deal for the magazine side of Meredith does not include the “Rachael Ray” daytime TV show, which is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution, or her Food Network programs.
