The Wall Street Journal: Hearst to buy Men’s Health, Runner’s World publisher Rodale

Hearst has agreed to purchase Rodale Inc., the family-owned publisher of magazines including Women’s Health, Men’s Health and Prevention, in a move that will give it a major presence in the health and wellness arena.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. A person familiar with the matter said the price was under $225 million. The deal is expected to close in early 2018 following government approval.

Acquiring Rodale will allow Hearst, owner of such titles as Cosmopolitan, Town & Country, and Esquire, to diversify into categories that have been relatively resilient in a tough publishing environment while creating opportunities to build consumer businesses. The deal also is expected to lead to some cost savings and give Hearst additional scale in digital media.

“There’s an advantage to having publications that play to the passions of their readers,” said Steven Swartz, Hearst’s chief executive, in an in interview. “We believe in magazines. These brands will also do great things on partner platforms like Facebook, Google, Apple and Snapchat.”

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

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