Ten Alps buys Asian assets from Reed Elsevier

Rss |

Homepage |

E-mail this article |

Adrian Dunleavy, chief executive of Ten Alps' Communications Division

11:22 am, February 1, 2010
Ten Alps buys Asian assets from Reed Elsevier

Media group Ten Alps Plc (AIM: TAL) today announced that it had formed a majority-owned joint venture to acquire Asian assets from publisher Reed Elsevier.

It said the businesses would be added to its operation in Singapore, where it also hopes to tie up further JVs.

Today's deal involves the purchase by Ten Alps Communications Asia Pte Ltd of 10 titles from Reed Business Information Asia, including web sites, events and publications.

The titles are Television Asia, Asia Image, Payload Asia, Control Engineering Asia, Asia Food Journal, Pharma Asia, Electronics Manufacturing Asia, Electronics Manufacturing China, Logistics Insight Asia and Travel Weekly China.

The JV company is 60pc owned by Ten Alps, with the remainder held by Karay Holdings, owned by former RBI Asia executive Raymond Wong, who will run the business. Ten Alps has an option to buy him out by 2013.

Adrian Dunleavy, chief executive of Ten Alps' Communications Division said there was "potential to develop the acquired assets using publishing techniques deployed successfully in our U.K. operations. We will target strong business and product development in the region, and transfer a number of our existing business models into the business to business and government sectors in Asia over the coming months."

Ten Alps, which employs 200 people in Manchester and Macclesfield and owns Teachers TV and a business-to-business contract publishing operation, said it planned to replicate in Asia the multi-platform business model of television, print and online which it is deploying in the UK.

Partly owned by Sir Bob Geldof, Ten Alps made its first step into Asia last August when it bought London-based TV production company Uproar Productions, including its Singapore office.

Comments?manchesternews@crain.com