SPH Magazines pays $23m for luxury titles

SPH Magazines, a unit of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), has strengthened its Asian expansion strategy by buying all the luxury magazines published by a Hong Kong firm.

The company will pay Adkom, a media group established in 2000 with a focus on the upmarket lifestyle sector, about $23.2 million for the titles.

These include Asia-Pacific Boating, AsiaSpa, Luxury Properties and other magazines targeted at affluent readers with an active lifestyle.

The magazines are published and circulated in major Asian cities, including Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Thailand.

This move 'will immediately extend SPH Magazines' reach in the North Asia market and fortify its position in the Asia-Pacific region as a major magazine publisher', said a company statement yesterday.

The acquisition, which will be made through its wholly owned Hong Kong firm Blu Inc Media, will be funded fully by internal resources.

It is not expected to have any impact on SPH's balance sheet for the financial year ending next Aug 31.

SPH publishes 14 newspapers and more than 90 magazines, and holds significant stakes in TV and radio stations in Singapore.