News Corp will acquire Investor’s Business Daily for $275 million. The financial news and research business will be operated by Dow Jones, a News Corp subsidiary.
The company describes Investor’s Business Daily as “high margin, profitable and rapidly growing digital first.” IBD was founded by William J. O’Neil in 1984 and has experienced double-digit revenue growth over the past several years, with digital representing more than 90% of IBD’s revenues and subscriptions.
This fits News Corp CEO Robert Thomson’s plans perfectly. He recently spoke about the advantages of being able to upsell Dow Jones subscribers additional opportunities. For example, for their new Marketwatch premium service, over half of subscribers choose to also sign up for Barron’s. IBD offers another upsell option.
News Corp tells us that the majority of IBD’s revenues and profits are from their investor tools, research and analysis products. They’ve seen increases in popularity and profitability recently. Investors are seeking information online to help them pick top performing stocks.
IBD’s revenue base is “almost entirely digital”, with nearly 100,000 digital subscribers across its platforms. The company does publish a weekly print edition. The website reaches 10.8 million average monthly uniques.
“IBD will greatly enhance our e-expertise in finance, with compelling digital coverage, unique tools and high-yielding services. We will be able to cross-sell and up-sell with Dow Jones financial products and provide specialist insights for a knowing business audience. Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal reported record profits in the last quarter and I have no doubt that IBD’s savvy digital products and journalism will significantly bolster profitability at the Dow Jones segment. This transformative deal obviously comes as investor interest is surging in stock and bond markets and there is a premium for intelligence, insight and integrity.”
Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp
Post acquisition, IBD, which has approximately 130 employees, will continue to be based at its headquarters in Los Angeles, and will operate as a stand-alone brand as part of Dow Jones.
