Newbury Park, CA -- Haynes Publishing Group P.L.C. ("Haynes"), the worldwide market leader in the production and sale of automotive and motorcycle repair manuals, has announced that it has acquired the assets of Clymer and Intertec Manuals ("Clymer") from Penton Business Media Inc. ("Penton") for $9.25 million to be satisfied by cash and debt. Clymer is located in Overland Park, KS, in the United States.
Founded by Floyd Clymer (1895-1970), Motorcycle Hall of Fame's "pioneer in the sport of motorcycling" Clymer is the global market leader in sales of DIY repair manuals for motorcycle owners. It also has a significant share of the DIY Marine (Inboard and Outboard) Manuals market; publishes a range of DIY manuals for personal watercraft and snowmobiles; and, under the Intertec name, publishes manuals for farm equipment including tractors, publishing 432 manuals across thousands of models in digital and print. For the financial year ended 31 December 2012, Clymer had net assets of $2.8 million, unaudited revenue of $4.3 million and unaudited pre-tax profitability of $1.0 million.
Complementing its existing successful manuals business, this acquisition will further strengthen Haynes' position in the motorcycle aftermarket making it the undisputed market leader around the world, adding additional content to the Haynes Group, while also bringing access into the new markets of marine, snowmobile and tractors.
The acquisition will be earnings enhancing and also release significant efficiencies in the areas of print cost, warehousing and distribution, and editorial/origination, with additional digital offerings representing further opportunities for growth.
Commenting on the acquisition, Eric Oakley, Group CEO of Haynes, said, "Clymer is a business that we have been interested in for some time and we are delighted that we are now bringing such an iconic name, particularly among motorcycle owners and DIYers, into the Haynes Group. We see many synergies between our two businesses, in terms of products and values, and we see real opportunities for revitalization and growth."
Nicola Allais, Senior VP of Penton commented that "Selling Clymer to a more natural owner is another step in Penton's evolution as the company continues to exit non-core print assets and focus on its strategic plan in events, digital, data and marketing services in its priority sectors. We wish Haynes much success with the Clymer brand."
With almost 60 percent of the funding for the acquisition coming from internal cash, the group remains financially well placed to continue its pursuit of other new opportunities as they arise.