Health publisher appoints firm to value titles

The privately held publisher that owns health sector newspaper the Irish Medical News and Old Moore's Almanac, the long-running tome of predictions, has appointed corporate financiers to review its business in advance of a possible sale of the titles.

Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick ranks among three shareholders in Mac Communications, in addition to businessman Cormac McAlinden and Autotrader managing director John O'Connell.

The company has appointed PGL Carr Corporate Finance to assess its publications, which also include the Maps medical directory.

"The intention is to evaluate the titles and get a valuation on them. Obviously, the decision will be made after that, depending on the value and level of interest that's out there," said Mac Communications managing director, Paul Crosbie.

The decision to prepare for a possible sale of the titles comes amid a renewed round of consolidation in the media sector generally.

The Irish assets of Today FM owner Emap are currently on the block, while Boundary Capital recently acquired the Irish edition of classified newspaper Buy & Sell magazine from Associated Newspapers.

Old Moore's Almanac is the best-known of the company's titles, but that publication only appears once a year. Therefore, the most valuable assets in Mac Communications' portfolio will be its two medical publications, which serve a large profession and benefit from lucrative health sector advertising.

In business since 1987, the recent commercial performance of Mac Communications is difficult to gauge as the company has not filed accounts since late 2005.

While the company itself did not trade, its most recent abridged accounts, for the nine months to December 2004, show shareholders' funds of €352,073 at the end of that period.

Winstone Publishing, the subsidiary that owns the Irish Medical News, had a turnover of €2.3 million in the same period and a pretax loss of €6,438. Accumulated losses stood at €632,495 at the end of that year.

Mr McAlinden was involved with Lithographic Web Press Ltd, a company that was acquired last year for an undisclosed sum by Tallaght printing group Microprint.

Established in 2003 following the merger of Lithographic Universal and Smurfit Web Press, Lithographic Web Press was best known for printing magazines such as the RTÉ Guide, Woman's Way, IT, U and Cara.