The Findlay buyout

Generally speaking I like to avoid any legal or financial issues on Napier News, but I feel I must make an exception regarding the acquisition of Findlay Publications (FPL) by management buy-out vehicle Findlay Media. Although I try to make sure all the stories are written from my own (somewhat biased) viewpoint, in this case I’m not in a position to make any insightful comments so I’m just going to include the text that Findlay Media executive director Ed Tranter sent me. The text does include a pitch for New Electronics, and although I don’t want to give one magazine preferential treatment over another, but in these exceptional circumstance I thought it better to leave Ed’s words unchanged.

Onwards and upwards

There has been much speculation and some degree of mischief-making surrounding New Electronics and the story behind Findlay Publications (FPL) fate. So, to put the record straight, this is what happened just two days before Christmas.

Like many companies, FPL operated a final salary pension scheme. But the recent decline in global stock markets and growing pension fund servicing costs, saw the pension fund develop a rapidly deepening, multi-million pound ‘black hole’ deficit.

Despite the company’s strong trading performance, its bank was not prepared to lend money simply to support the troubled final salary scheme and as a result, the bank withdrew its overdraft facility with no warning.

Instead of the relaxing Christmas break they were planning, four members of FPL’s senior management team spent the holiday putting together a bid for a substantial part of FPL’s assets. That bid was successful and a new company – Findlay Media – emerged as the new owners of New Electronics.

Findlay Media executive director Ed Tranter said: “Despite a turbulent Christmas period, we entered 2009 in a better position than many. Findlay Media has no bank debts, no financial salary scheme burden, available investment funds and exciting plans for product development across the group, not just in the electronics sector.”

The re-launch of www.newelectronics.co.uk is just the start of the product development roll out. Not only has there been a change of design, the site is now updated throughout the day providing its readers with more news and technology features than before. The site has also been enhanced with the a number of new sections and innovations, including interviews, NETV (video channel), white papers, new product announcements, opinion polls, blogs and the ability for the readers to comment on all stories. New Electronics has also launched an Embedded channel, providing focused coverage of this important industry sector. Further vertical channels are in development and will be launched in the next few months.

Importantly, New Electronics has the same editorial team, the same high editorial and circulation standards and the same fortnightly publishing schedule.

In a recent New Electronics’ reader survey, 61% of readers have made purchasing decisions based on what they have seen in the magazine, 23% of New Electronics readers have a budget of more than £500,000 and 72% of the New Electronics audience reads every issue. With of delivery mechanisms ranging from print advertising and website presence to direct mail and focused marketing campaigns – New Electronics remains one of the essential routes to market for companies looking to reach electronics design engineers. Whatever else you may have heard, those are the facts.