Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog

From a variety of news sources:

This morning, Incisive Media announced it it had agreed to acquire ALM, the Bruce Wasserstein-owned media company for about $630 million.

American Lawyer Media, now known as ALM, owns 33 legal publications, including American Lawyer, the National Law Journal, Law.com and several local legal newspapers. The company generated about $200 million in revenues in 2006.

Some of the newspapers and magazines owned by American Lawyer Media include Corporate Counsel, IP Law & Business, the Minority Law Journal, the Fulton County Daily Report, the Legal Times, the National Law Journal, the New York Law Journal, the Recorder, Texas Lawyer.

The newspapers were formally owned by U.S. Equity Partners, controlled by Wasserstein's private equity fund, according to a press release. Wasserstein, also the top dog at investment bank Lazard, paid $200 million for the company in 1997. Wasserstein, a Harvard Law grad, began his career as an M&A attorney at Cravath.

At least four private equity firms had been in the final round of bidding for ALM, Reuters reports. Other bidders included Avista Capital Partners, Dolan Media, Source Media and Elevation Partners, according to the London Telegraph.

William L. Pollak, president and CEO of ALM, will join Incisive Media’s board after his company is acquired. "ALM will provide a sizable platform for Incisive Media to grow in the U.S.," he said in the press release, "and becoming part of Incisive Media will enable us to pursue a range of global opportunities that have not been fully available to us to date."

Incisive Media, publisher of Legal Week, provides specialized business information focusing on financial services, risk management, professional services and marketing services.