Primedia Mulls Sale of Enthusiast Media

NEW YORK (AP) -- Specialty magazine publisher Primedia Inc. said Friday it is considering selling its Enthusiast Media division.

The unit's titles include Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Automobile and Automotive.com among more than 70 publications and 90 web sites.

In December Primedia said it would sell its hunting, fishing and outdoor titles to private equity firm InterMedia Partners LP for $170 million in cash.

"Given the multiples Primedia received from the sale of the Outdoors Group and the particularly strong investment and debt markets, the board believes the best course of action for primedia shareholders is exploring the complete sale of the enthusiast media segment," Chairman, President and Chief Executive Dean Nelson said in a statement.

Nelson said the board is also considering a spinoff of its Consumer Source division, which would create two separate publicly traded companies.

Consumer Source publishes and distributes free consumer guides including Apartment Guide, Auto Guide and New Home Guide.

Shares of Primedia added 31 cents, or 18.8 percent, to $1.96 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.