Tag Archives: ziff davis

IGN has been bought by j2 Global subsidiary Ziff Davis, confirming speculation that the group had acquired the company from previous owner News Corp for an undisclosed amount.

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News Corp. is in the process of closing a deal with Ziff Davis over the sale of IGN, according to All Things Digital.

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Business cloud services provider j2 Global has completed a deal to purchase long-running tech publisher Ziff Davis. j2 paid $167 million for the company and expects the investment to have an instant impact on its financial report, contributing $60 million to its revenue in 2013.

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Looks like former Ziff Davis mag EGM — allegedly killed in the recent 1UPocalypse — was only mostly dead, because its original founder, Steve Harris, was able to collect enough scraps to glue EGM back together again.

Harris has entered into an agreement with former publisher Ziff Davis to purchase a plethora of EGM assets, like trademarks and publishing rights. Apparently, the fervently loved publication will relaunch during the second half of 2009.

“The re-launch of Electronic Gaming Monthly represents a welcome opportunity to continue delivering quality content to gaming enthusiasts,” said Harris in a press release. “I feel honored to once again be associated with this respected magazine. The talented writers and designers who built upon EGM’s original vision have left behind a publication that is uniquely positioned to be successful.”

With EGM’s superstar staff flung to the far corners of the Internet , however, we can’t help but wonder what form this relaunch will take. Regardless, though, some EGM is better than none, right?

Expect more info out of E3 next week.

Ziff Davis’ FileFront download service has been handed its walking papers. According to a farewell post on the site, users have until March 30 to snap up their favorite demos, movies, and patches before the site becomes home to a roving herd of domain squatters.

“We regret to inform you that due to the current economic conditions we are forced to indefinitely suspend the FileFront site operations on March 30, 2009,” reads the post.

“If you have uploaded files, images or posted blogs, or if you would like to download some of your favorite files, please take this opportunity to download them before March 30th when the site will be suspended.”

“Your support has had a meaningful impact for all of us here at FileFront. Again, we want to give you a sincere ‘thank you’ for your support over the years and wish you all the very best. ”

Best of luck to all affected by this unfortunate turn of events.

According this post from Spanish language EGM editorial director Adrián Carbajal has confirmed the magazine is to close.

Uncertainty over the fate of the English language issue has been cited as the reason for the move.

It was rumoured yesterday that UGO is about to buy Ziff Davis’s games properties, and that FileFront and EGM aren’t part of the equation.

Thanks, Kotaku.

Ziff Davis has admitted it’s “considering” canning the print version of EGM.

Chief executive James Young, has told the New York Times that an online-only future for the mag is a possibility, but that the publisher “would not make a decision before the end of the year.”

Just do it. Print’s rubbish.

Thanks, Joystiq.

A US court has given to go ahead for Ziff Davis, owner of 1UP and EGM, to commence with a bankruptcy restructuring plan designed to clear nearly $500 million in debt.

“The Court’s confirmation of our Plan is a major milestone for Ziff Davis as we look to emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring,” said Jason Young, Chief Executive Officer of Ziff Davis Media.

“We are very proud of the progress we have made during our short time in Chapter 11 to become a healthier company. We remain grateful for the unwavering support of our customers, vendors and employees throughout this process and we look forward to continuing our work with all of our stakeholders after our emergence. After concluding our restructuring, we will be better positioned, with the financial strength to grow and capitalize on our strengths.”

The company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 on July 1.

More on Kotaku.

Ziff Davis has closed the official Games for Windows magazine in the US. Most of the publication’s staff will be moved onto 1UP.

The magazine has been running for the past 27 years, apparently, so if this isn’t a sign of the times we don’t know what is. Games for Windows recently got the print exclusive on The Sims 3 – which was rather obviously rewritten for the internet in about 12 seconds flat – and started life as Computer Gaming World.

1UP network VP Simon Cox told Next-Gen, “The newsstand was a very challenging space for us. It was a tough place to be,” he said. “And then you have the marketers who want to advertise in print, but they don’t put the budgets behind it that they used to, and they tend to be moving towards online. Wrap those things up, and it’s not a pretty picture from a business perspective.”

Cox went on to hint that the future may even affect that bastion of American games in print, EGM.

“The prognosis for [Electronic Gaming Monthly] is good, but ultimately, of course, that could change,” he said. “We’re all realists here. We all know that ultimately, online is probably going to be where most people are going to get their information. We’re not at that point yet, and there is still a place for EGM until we get there.”

Here. 1UP editor Simon Cox explains why the company filed for branruptcy earlier this week, and it basically all boils down to shifting off crippling debt.

Ziff has been saddled with an enormous amount of debt for many years. An amount so large that even though we’re a profitable company (and growing all the time), the repayments were killing us; servicing that debt meant that we had very little money to play with and to invest in all the great ideas we have every day for taking our mags and websites to the next level. So last year we brought the bondholders of that debt to the table and proposed that they turn that debt into equity in Ziff Davis.

They all said yes.

What they couldn’t quite agree on was who got what percentage of the company, and so we have asked the court to decide that for them. And for us. The process will take about three to four months, and at the end of it we will effectively have new owners. In the meantime, our day-to-day operations are completely unaffected. In fact, the major bondholders have kicked in a bunch of cash to make, if anything, our day-to-day operations run smoother than they have in years.

More through the link.

According to this, 1UP publisher Ziff Davis has filed for Chapter 11. In other words, it’s gone bancrupt.

“Ziff Davis filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York court today as part of a debt restructuring plan,” said that report.”

“This agreement underscores our Senior Secured Noteholders’ confidence in our ability to position ourselves for continued profitable growth,” CEO Jason Young said in a statement. “Today’s restructuring agreement goes a long way towards resolving the burdens of a debt load and capital structure established seven years ago, during a leveraged buyout of the company.”

Hit that link right now.

Update: Here’s the press release.