Target Media Partners, a Los Angeles-based magazine and online classifieds group, has made a bid of more than €20 million to acquire Buy & Sell in Ireland, a title owned by Associated Newspapers.
The US company is up against Boundary Capital, an Irish investment group headed by Niall McFadden, and Midland Web Printing, a Birr-based company headed by Arnold Fanning.
It is understood that Associated will enter exclusive discussions with one of these companies by the end of this month with a sale likely to be completed by June. Merrion Corporate Finance is handling the sale.
Target Media Partners is a surprise bidder for Buy & Sell. While it has extensive operations in the US, the company has no presence in Ireland. Formed in 1998 as a spin-off from Recycler Classifieds, the US group has a portfolio of 55 advertising publications and 30 websites. This includes 43 classified and car photo ad papers that are circulated in 21 states in the US.
These advertise everything from used cars to electronics and furniture to musical instruments. Automotive advertising is its biggest category.
The company is hugely acquisitive. Since 1995, Target Media's management team has completed more than 30 acquisitions of advertising publications.
Target Media's website states it will "consider any size transaction in any niche or geographic market".
Buy & Sell, which is published three times a week, carries about 50,000 free ads and has earnings of about €2.2 million on turnover of €11 million. The magazine's circulation declined in the July to December period to 80,844 down from 84,033 for the same period of 2005, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
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