After Reed Elsevier announced April 16 it was shutting down a staggering 23 titles published under its Reed Business Information U.S. division, it was generally expected that at least some of those would be snapped back up in the 11th hour from former employees. That’s just happened with RBI’s Supply Chain Group.
Brian Ceraolo, the group’s publisher, has formed a new company, Peerless Media, along with the former management team. Peerless has reached an agreement in principle with Reed Elsevier to acquire the four Supply Chain Group brands: Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, Supply Chain Management Review and Material Handling Product News.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the month.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed and a spokesperson declined to comment specifically. The spokesperson also declined to comment on the funding behind Peerless, but did say that there had been interest in the brands from a variety of parties "over the recent months and weeks."
The new company will keep the entire staff in place at the group’s current Boston area headquarters. The titles will see no interruption in their publishing schedules. "It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to provide continuity with these great brands," said Ceraolo in a statement. "They are deeply rooted in the landscape of their respective industries."
