British media group Emap has agreed to sell its consumer magazines and radio businesses to German publisher Bauer for £1.14 billion, but has dropped plans to sell its business-to-business unit.
Analysts had expected Emap to raise around £1.2 billion from selling Emap Communications, its business-to-business (B2B) unit which publishes trade magazines and is Britain's biggest organiser of trade exhibitions.
Emap's consumer magazines and radio stations include FHM and Magic respectively. The company said it would return around £1 billion to shareholders following completion of the deal with Bauer.
Emap has long been tipped as a break-up target, following a string of profit warnings as it struggles with competition from the internet and a weak advertising market. Earlier this year it sold its radio stations in the Republic of Ireland to Denis O'Brien's Communicorp.
