K-III Communications
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RentPath Inc. is a
media company A media conglomerate, media company, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, video games, amusement parks, or ...
that owns
Rent.com Rent.com is an apartment search engine and online marketplace catering to millennials. It is owned bRent.which is in turn owned by Redfin. Timeline Rent.com was founded in 1999 as Viva.com. In December 2004, eBay purchased Rent.com for $415 mill ...
, ApartmentGuide.com, Lovely, and Rentals.com, which combined see 16 million visitors each month. It was previously called K-III and PriMedia. The company was acquired by
Redfin Redfin Corporation is an American company that provides residential real estate brokerage and mortgage origination services. Based in Seattle, the company operates in more than 100 markets in the United States and Canada. In 2024, the company h ...
in April 2021. During its heyday of 1991 to 2007, K-III/Primedia built a collection of more than 200 magazines that included ''
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
'' and ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'',Weber, Bruce
"Bill Reilly, Magazine Publishing Executive, Dies at 70"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', October 20, 2008. Accessed October 23, 2008.
as well as ''
Automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
'', ''
Truckin' Magazine ''Truckin' Magazine'' was a sport truck magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual conten ...
'', ''
Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It featured onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional ...
'', ''
Soap Opera Weekly ''Soap Opera Weekly'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterize ...
'', '' Seventeen'', and ''
Weekly Reader ''Weekly Reader'' was a weekly educational classroom magazine designed for children. It began in 1928 as ''My Weekly Reader''. Editions covered curriculum themes in the younger grade levels and news-based, current events and curriculum themed- ...
''.


History


Foundation as K-III

The company, initially called K-III Communications Corporation, was founded in 1989 by
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...
and Macmillan Inc. president
Bill Reilly William Francis Reilly (June 8, 1938 – October 17, 2008) was an American publishing and media executive who was the founder and former chairman of Primedia. During Reilly's time at the helm of Primedia, the firm built a collection of more th ...
, as a platform to buy media properties. Its first acquisitions were Macmillan's Book Clubs, Gryphon Editions (renamed Newbridge Communications), and Intertec Publishing; and
Maxwell Communications Corporation Maxwell Communication Corporation plc was a leading British media business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It collapsed in 1991 following the death of its titular owner. History Format ...
's Webb Publishing. In 1990, K-III acquired
Ward's Ward's is an American organization that has covered the automotive industry for over a century. The organization is responsible for several publications including, '' Ward's AutoWorld'', and '' Ward's Dealer Business''. Ward's also publish the ...
from
Thomson Corporation Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organization and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to form Thomson Reut ...
It also acquired the business publications of Andrews Communications; Readers Garden, operator of special interest book clubs; and ''
Weekly Reader ''Weekly Reader'' was a weekly educational classroom magazine designed for children. It began in 1928 as ''My Weekly Reader''. Editions covered curriculum themes in the younger grade levels and news-based, current events and curriculum themed- ...
'' and
Funk & Wagnalls Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...
from
Marshall Field V Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...
. In 1991, it acquired nine magazines from
News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...
for $600 million: ''
Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of rac ...
'', ''
Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It featured onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional ...
'', ''
Soap Opera Weekly ''Soap Opera Weekly'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterize ...
'', ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'', '' Seventeen'', ''
Premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
'', ''European Travel & Life'', ''
Automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
'', and ''New Woman''. In 1992, it acquired medical publisher Krames from
Grolier Grolier is one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including '' The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), '' The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), '' Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), '' Ac ...
, and Films for the Humanities & Sciences. In 1993, it acquired three magazines from Wiesner, and '' The World Almanac'' from
E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company, also known as Scripps, is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglom ...
. In 1994, K-III acquired ''
Stagebill ''Stagebill'' was a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Most copies of the publication were printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's program. It was launched as a direct rival to the highly successful mont ...
'';
Gibbs College Katharine Gibbs College was a for-profit institution of higher learning based in the United States, founded by Katharine Gibbs. It was first founded in 1911 as the Providence School in Rhode Island, an institution that focused on the career educ ...
; Haas Publishing (now Consumer Source Inc.), publisher of ''Apartment Guide''; and PJS Publications.


Going public

In 1995, the company became a
public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...
via an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
, selling 15 million shares at $12 per share in a deal that left Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with control of 82.2% of the company's shares. It also acquired the US trade magazine operations of
Maclean-Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers John Bayne Maclean and H ...
, ''
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
'' from
Landmark Media Enterprises Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC (a spinoff of Landmark Communications, Inc.) is a privately held technology company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. History The ''Norfolk Landmark'' was established in 1873. It had various editors. K. C. Murray ...
, and McMullen & Yee Publishing, a publisher of automotive magazine. In 1996, the company acquired 14 publications from Cahners Consumer Magazines, ''
Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illin ...
'', and Westcott Communications, later renamed Primedia Workplace Learning. In 1997, the company acquired Farm Press, Park Avenue Publishing, publisher of ''
Lowrider A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body that emerged among Mexican American youth in the 1940s. ''Lowrider'' also refers to the driver of the car and their participation in lowrider car clubs, which remain a part of Chi ...
'', and Intellichoice. It also sold Krames to the
Times Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...
, sold ''New Woman'' to
Rodale, Inc. Rodale, Inc. (), was an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and digital properties headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, with a satellite office in New York City. The company was founded in 1930. In 2017, it was acquired ...
, and sold Gibbs College to
Career Education Corporation Perdoceo Education Corporation (PRDO) is a public company that owns five for-profit universities in the United States: American Intercontinental University, Colorado Technical University, California Southern University, Trident University Int ...
.


Rebranding as Primedia; shift away from print

As of November 18, 1997, the company changed its name to Primedia to more clearly focus on its core business. In 1998, the company acquired the Cowles Enthusiast Media and Cowles Business Media divisions of
Cowles Media Company Cowles Media Company ( ) (1935–1998) was a newspaper, magazine and information publishing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The company operated Cowles Business Media, Cowles Creative Publishing, and Cowles Ent ...
from
McClatchy Newspapers McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it ...
. It sold ''
Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of rac ...
'' to private investors, sold ''
Stagebill ''Stagebill'' was a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Most copies of the publication were printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's program. It was launched as a direct rival to the highly successful mont ...
'' to Fred B. Tarter, sold Newbridge Communications to Doubleday Direct, and acquired Sterling/MacFadden's teen magazines and teen publisher Laufer Publishing. In 1999, as the company's stock remained moribund, it sold its education unit (''
Weekly Reader ''Weekly Reader'' was a weekly educational classroom magazine designed for children. It began in 1928 as ''My Weekly Reader''. Editions covered curriculum themes in the younger grade levels and news-based, current events and curriculum themed- ...
'', The World Almanac) to
Ripplewood Holdings Ripplewood is an American private equity firm based in New York City that focuses on leveraged buyouts, venture capital, late stage venture, growth capital, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and other illiquid investments. Ripplewo ...
, acquired Multimedia Publishing, and sold ''Better Nutrition'', ''Southwest Art'', and ''
Vegetarian Times ''Vegetarian Times'' is an American publication focused on food, culture, health and lifestyle for vegetarians, vegans, and all people interested in plant-based eating. ''Vegetarian Times'' promotes an eco-friendly lifestyle with recipes, and he ...
'' to Sabot Publishing. In 2000, the company acquired the digital media company
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
for $690 million. In January 2001, as part of a joint venture, Primedia handed over editorial control of its trade publications that reported on the media industry to Steven Brill. Later that year, the company acquired
EMAP Ascential (formerly EMAP) was a British-headquartered global company, specialising in events, intelligence and advisory services for the marketing and financial technology industries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was ac ...
's U.S. magazines and closed '' Country Journal''. In October 2001, Primedia dissolved its partnership with Brill. In 2002, the company sold ''Modern Bride'' to
Condé Nast Publications Condé is a French place name and personal name. It is ultimately derived from a Celtic word, "Condate", meaning "confluence" (of two rivers) - from which was derived the Romanised form "Condatum", in use during the Roman period, and thence to ...
, sold ''Pro Football Weekly'' to Arkush family, sold ''
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
'' to
Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...
, and sold ''American Baby'' to
Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned newspapers, magazines, television stations, and websites. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more than ...
. In 2003, the company sold ''Volleyball'', ''Teddy Bear and Friends'' and ''
Doll Reader ''Doll Reader'' was a collectors magazine in the United States, appearing eight times a year. It included information on antique dolls, collectible and modern dolls, and offerings from manufacturers and contemporary doll artists. The last publis ...
'' to Ashton International Media, sold '' Seventeen'' to
Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...
for $182.4 million, sold ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' to Bruce Wasserstein for $55 million, sold ''
Tiger Beat ''Tiger Beat'' was an American teen fan magazine published by The Laufer Company and marketed primarily to adolescent girls. The magazine had a paper edition that was sold at stores until December 2018, and afterward was published exclusively o ...
'' and '' Bop'' to
Laufer Media Laufer Media is an American magazine publisher, focusing on teen magazines. History ''Tiger Beat'' was started in 1965 by Charles Laufer, and brought stars such as Donny Osmond to national attention. Laufer started several more teen magazines w ...
, sold ''Kitplanes'' to Belvoir Publications, and sold Simba Information to
R.R. Bowker R. R. Bowker LLC (trading as Bowker) is an American limited liability company domiciled under Delaware Limited Liability Company Law and based in Chatham, New Jersey. Among other things, Bowker provides bibliographic information on publishe ...
. In 2004, the company sold ''
Folio The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...
'' and ''Circulation Management'' to a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
with Red 7 Media. In 2005, the company sold
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
to
The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media corporation that publishes ''The New York Times'' and its associated publications such as ''The New York Times International Edition'' and other media properties. The New York Times Company's ...
for $410 million, sold
Prism Business Media Penton was an information services and marketing company. The company's three largest revenue streams came from events, digital and marketing services. Although Penton had a long history (see below) as a trade publisher, in 2015 it reported that ...
(ex-Intertec) to private investors
Wasserstein Wasserstein is a surname and can refer to: * Abraham Wasserstein (1921–1995), a German-born British and Israeli classicist * Bernard Wasserstein (born 1948), a British historian * Bruce Wasserstein (1947–2009), an American former investment b ...
& Co. (later merged with
Penton Media Penton was an information services and marketing company. The company's three largest revenue streams came from events, digital and marketing services. Although Penton had a long history (see below) as a trade publisher, in 2015 it reported that ...
), and sold
Ward's Ward's is an American organization that has covered the automotive industry for over a century. The organization is responsible for several publications including, '' Ward's AutoWorld'', and '' Ward's Dealer Business''. Ward's also publish the ...
to
Prism Business Media Penton was an information services and marketing company. The company's three largest revenue streams came from events, digital and marketing services. Although Penton had a long history (see below) as a trade publisher, in 2015 it reported that ...
. In 2006, the company was publishing over 280 separate magazine titles. That year, it sold history magazines to
Weider History Group World History Group is a magazine publishing company headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia. It was founded in 2006 as Weider History Group by Eric Weider, the son of fitness entrepreneur Ben Weider (and nephew of Joe Weider) and current President o ...
, sold Crafts Group to Sandler Capital Management for $132 million, and sold Outdoor Group to
InterMedia Partners InterMedia Advisors, LLC (a..k.a. InterMedia Partners), is a private equity investment firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in the mass media, media sector. The firm, which was founded in 1992 by notable private equity ...
In 2007, the company sold a group of 17 outdoor-oriented magazines to InterMedia Outdoors for $170 million in cash, in a deal that included ''
Guns & Ammo ''Guns & Ammo'' is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competitive shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States. Content and Circulation The magazine offers reviews on firearms, ammunition, optics an ...
'' and ''Fly Fisherman''. It also sold its Enthusiast Media division to
Source Interlink Motor Trend Group, LLC (formerly known as Source Interlink Media and TEN: The Enthusiast Network) is a media company that specializes in enthusiast brands, such as ''Motor Trend'' and ''Hot Rod''. Headquartered in El Segundo, California, it was ...
, controlled by
Ronald Burkle Ronald Wayne Burkle (born November 12, 1952) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a private investment firm that specializes in U.S. companies in the distribution, logistics, foo ...
, in a deal that netted Primedia $1.15 billion in cash in exchange for a group of more than 70 magazines, including ''
Motor Trend ''Motor Trend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''Motor Trend'' until 1998, when it was sold ...
'' and ''
Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It featured onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional ...
'' and 90 consumer websites. The deal left Primedia to focus on a series of free print and online consumer guides published by its Consumer Source unit. It also sold Gems group to Interweave, sold ''
Climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...
'' to Skram Media, sold Films for the Humanities & Sciences to
Infobase Publishing Infobase is an American publisher of databases, reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent imprints, including ...
, and sold
Channel One News Channel One News was an American news content provider. The daily news program was accompanied by commercial advertising for marketing in schools, with supplementary educational resources. The Peabody Award, Peabody award-winning Channel One New ...
to Alloy Media and Marketing. In 2008, the company sold ''South Florida Auto Guide'' and ''Wisconsin Auto Guide'' to Target Media Partners and closed ''Atlanta Auto Guide''. In 2009, the company closed ''Today's Custom Home''.


Acquisition by TPG Capital and shift toward real estate

In 2011,
TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments. The firm in ...
bought Primedia for $525 million, taking the company private and delisting it from the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
. In 2012, Primedia acquired
rent.com Rent.com is an apartment search engine and online marketplace catering to millennials. It is owned bRent.which is in turn owned by Redfin. Timeline Rent.com was founded in 1999 as Viva.com. In December 2004, eBay purchased Rent.com for $415 mill ...
from
eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
. In 2013, the company changed its name to RentPath. In 2014 it acquired Lovely for $13 million. In 2014,
Providence Equity Partners Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity inves ...
LLC acquired 50% of the company. In July 2015, former CEO of Autotrader.com, Chip Perry, was named president and CEO of RentPath. He succeeded Charles Stubbs, who remained on the RentPath board of directors. In November 2015, Chip Perry stepped down as president and CEO of RentPath, to take over as CEO of TrueCar. RentPath named Marc P. Lefar as President and CEO on April 4, 2016.


Bankruptcy

In February 2020, RentPath filed
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
in preparation for acquisition by CoStar, which reached an agreement to acquire RentPath for $588 million. On December 29, 2020, new CEO Dhiren Fonseca terminated RentPath's agreement to be acquired by CoStar. On April 5, 2021, RentPath was acquired by
Redfin Redfin Corporation is an American company that provides residential real estate brokerage and mortgage origination services. Based in Seattle, the company operates in more than 100 markets in the United States and Canada. In 2024, the company h ...
for $608 million. RentPath rental home listings were to be integrated into Redfin.com by 2022. RentPath's headquarters remain in Atlanta and Fonseca remains in his role as CEO while the new owners seek a new permanent head.


Former notable magazine titles


Action sports


Automotive


Entertainment


Enthusiast


Equestrian


Lifestyle


Teen


Wellness


References

{{Authority control Magazine publishing companies of the United States Private equity portfolio companies Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies Publishing companies established in 1989 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 2021 mergers and acquisitions