Russell-Cooke's corporate and commercial team successfully advised the founders of Dezeen Limited (Dezeen) on the sale of their company to Danish media company JP/Politiken Media Group (JP/Politiken). The sale completed a strong first quarter for the corporate and commercial team who have to date completed deals in 2021 with a value of over £130m.
The sale was negotiated, agreed and completed within weeks from first instructions in a collaborative effort between sellers, buyer and onshore and offshore advisers. Marcus Fairs, founder and editor-in-chief of Dezeen, will continue to develop the business alongside the other existing members of the leadership team, Rupinder Bhogal, Wai Shin Li and Benedict Hobson.
Dezeen is a London-headquartered, award-winning digital content platform and publisher focused on the design and architecture industries. The business was launched in 2006 and now gets over three million unique visitors each month, has a social media audience of over six and a half million people and is regularly listed among the 4,000 most visited websites in the world by Alexa.
JP/Politiken Media Group is one of Denmark's leading media companies. The group's portfolio includes three of the largest domestic newspapers as well as some of the country's leading business publications.
The Russell-Cooke team consisted of partner Guy Wilmot and associate Alex Canning. The firm advised the sellers throughout the sale process, from assisting with the Heads of Terms and due diligence exercise through to negotiating the sale agreement and advising on the exercise of Dezeen's EMI share options.
Guy Wilmot commented: "It is very gratifying to see a deal go through in such a tight timeframe, especially when it is the product of sound collaboration between all parties. We send our very best to Marcus and the rest of the Dezeen team and look forward to seeing what this next stage of their evolution looks like."
Head of Russell-Cooke's corporate and commercial team Jonathan Thornton said: "The sale of Dezeen is one of a number of deals we have completed in a very strong Q1. This time last year things were not looking positive but deal flow has resumed with a vengeance and we are seeing strong activity across a number of sectors – from newer sectors such as digital media platforms to more traditional stalwarts such as property investment. We’ve also been delighted to help support the growing English wine industry along the way. This is a great sign for the economy generally and for our clients who we are now able to assist as they evolve and develop their businesses after an incredibly difficult year. We are optimistic that things will continue to move in the right direction and we look forward to a busy year!"