Quad/Graphics-LSC Merger Called Off
Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 at 12:28 PM
In the news: Print market megamerger off the table to avoid DOJ
lawsuit.
Last week, Quad/Graphics and LSD Communication
called off its controversial merger. The move had drawn widespread
criticism -- and a lawsuit from the Department of Justice. Greg Dool of
Foliomag.com reports: "In separate statements, both Quad/Graphics and
LSC reaffirmed their disagreement with the Justice Department's
assessment of the deal, but reasoned that the benefits of the merger
would be outweighed by the delays and legal costs associated with
fighting the DOJ lawsuit."
The lawsuit, filed last month,
asserted that the merger would create a printing monopoly that would
"likely increase the price and reduce the availability of products from
popular magazines to grade school textbooks." Still, though the deal has
been called off, some damage has already been done: According to Dool,
"Quad/Graphics will pay LSC a $45 million fee as a result of the deal's
termination." Read more about the canceled deal here.
Also
Notable
Product Publisher Challenges
Last
week, publishing executives convened for the 2019 Digiday Publishing
Product Leaders Retreat. Many discussed the challenges they faced in
trying to "do product." Chief challenges include recruiting talent in a
competitive job market with limited resources, defining goals and
priorities, and ad experience woes. Read anonymous comments from the
conference attendees here.
Digital
Ads Not Offsetting Print Losses
"Magazine publishers aren't
making up for their losses of print advertising with digital spending,"
reports Rob Williams of MediaPost's Publishing Insider, citing
data from eMarketer data. Overall, he says, ad revenue was down 18
percent in 2018, and advertisers cut magazine spending by 12 percent.
Even more problematic, "digital ad revenue will grow 2.1 percent for
magazines this year, while print ad revenue falls 17 percent." Read more here.
Add
your comment.