Future Publishing has acquired the Cycling News website from Knapp Communications for AUS $5.25 million ($4.4 million) in cash. Started in 1995 by Australian economics professor Bill Mitchell before he sold to the publisher in 1999, the site last year claimed around 500,000 monthly unique visitors, earning AUS $1.5 million ($1.29 million) annual revenue.
The buy comes in the same week Future aims to launch its new BikeRadar.com cycling news portal – drawing content from its portfolio of four biking magazines – as well as in Tour De France week (Future is licensed to produce the official magazine). In March, Future bought cyclists’ route planning site Bikely.com. Making the announcement, Future estimated it can attract 800,000-plus monthly uniques and said, “the acquisition of Cyclingnews.com and the launch of BikeRadar.com go hand-in-hand.”
The aggressive strategy to aggregate strengths from across its print portfolio was last month seen in the launch of HouseToHome, drawing articles from its Home & Gardens, Ideal Home and Living etc. magazines, and is already in existence in the video games vertical. It is the first in a series of digital ventures set to come from a £5.7 million ($11.4 million) investment over the next year, MediaWeek reported.