Virgo Publishing Acquired by Arlington Capital

B-to-B publisher sold for close to $100 million, sources say.

By Jason Fell
02/26/2008

Private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners has acquired Virgo Publishing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but media observers put the deal close to $100 million.

Media investment firm DeSilva + Phillips brokered the deal.

Phoenix-based Virgo publishes 17 magazines and produces 10 events. Virgo, with approximately $50 million in revenue, was acquired by Seaport Capital in December 2004. The company was founded in 1986 and serves niche business sectors, with magazines including Billing & OSS World, Corporate Logo, Professional Door Dealer and New Telephony.

“Virgo has had good financial performance over the last few years,” one industry observer tells FOLIO:. “Investing in b-to-b is still attractive to private equity players. I think this deal is testimony to the strengths of b-to-b media.”

Arlington Capital Partners is a Washington, D.C.-based middle market private equity firm that invests primarily in U.S.-based companies with values between $50 and $100 million.