BBC sells Lonely Planet for £51.5mn

Reuters/London

Publicly-funded British broadcaster the BBC is selling Lonely Planet, taking a 60% loss on a business that critics say strayed beyond its public service remit.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said yesterday it was selling Lonely Planet to US-based NC2 Media for £51.5mn as part of a drive to refocus on BBC brands.

The BBC bought a majority stake in Lonely Planet in 2007 and four years later became the sole shareholder of a business which had revolutionised the travel guide industry with its focus on offbeat locations and personal experiences.

In total, the BBC paid out £130.2mn.

“We acquired Lonely Planet in 2007 when both our strategy and the market conditions were quite different,” said BBC Worldwide’s interim chief executive Paul Dempsey. “However, we have also recognised that it no longer fits with our plans to put BBC brands at the heart of our business and have decided to sell the company to NC2 Media who are better placed to build and invest in the business,” Dempsey said.

The sale to NC2 Media, whose main shareholder is Kentucky billionaire Brad Kelley, will take place at the end of March. The BBC’s purchase of Lonely Planet was part of a broader trend to diversify by broadcasters which also saw rival ITV spend - and ultimately lose - tens of millions of pounds on the Friends Reunited social network. The acquisition of Lonely Planet drew criticism at the time for appearing to stray from the public services remit of the BBC, which is publicly funded through a licence tax.

The broadcaster said it would receive £41.2mn on completion of the sale, and £10.3mn in 12 months.