VNU sells European business units to 3i.

VNU Group (Haarlem, the Neth.) has agreed to sell substantially all of its Business Media Europe (BME; London) group to 3i (London), a private equity and venture capital company. No terms were given. The deal is expected to close in February and does not include VNU Exhibitions Europe.

The proposed sale to 3i would include BME's print and information operations in the U.K., the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium. The proposed sale of BME's operations in France to 3i is still under discussion. VNU BME is the leading European technology publisher in the seven abovementioned countries in advertising and readership market share. In the Netherlands, it is a market leader in classified advertising (Intermediair) and business magazines (Management Team). In the seven countries, the company produces approximately 70 trade magazines covering a broad range of subject areas including recruitment and career development, information technology, media and marketing, electronics and finance, management.

Leading BME titles are "Intermediair" (career development), "Computable" and "Management Team" in the Netherlands, "Computing," "IT Week," "Accounting Age" and "ComputerActive" in the U.K., "PC Actual," "Computing" and "Anuncios" in Spain, "PC Professional" in Germany, and "PC Magazine," "Automazione Oggi" and "Pubblicita Italia" in Italy.

3i Partner Mark Redman said "as part of our Dutch media focus, we identified BME as the prime asset in the Dutch recruitment space, with market leading titles." 31's Head of Media Crevan O'Grady added that "classified advertising is a space we know well globally, and we are keen to invest in. We are attracted by recruitment's proven online model, and 3i has a track record of successful investments in classified ads in newspapers, yellow pages and online."

In related news, VNU (New York) has entered into a partnership with the In-Store Marketing Institute (Skokie, IL) to launch a global measurement service on final purchasing decisions. It will measure consumer exposure to an array of in-store marketing vehicles, including television and radio, shelf talkers, digital signage and other point-of-purchase displays.