Richard Beckman, the former Condé Nast publisher who was notorious for having awesome parties and for once bonking two womens’ heads together to make them kiss, made a splash last year when he decamped for Nielsen Media. He promptly renamed the company, which publishes The Hollywood Reporter and AdWeek and other trades. It briefly bore the name e5 Publishing, but then, under Beckman, became the kick-ass Prometheus Media. But even though the new Hollywood Reporter, reimagined by editor Janice Min, is going gangbusters, investors seem to feel that the brand has lost its mojo. Guggenheim Partners and Pluribus Capital management are looking to unload their portion of the company, for which they paid $70 million in 2010. According to the Post, they’re looking for a 50 percent premium, which indicates that they believe in what Beckman’s done with the company — they just don’t want to be around for the next stage. Apparently, head-bonking doesn’t have the appeal it once did.
Investors want out of ‘Hollywood Reporter’ publisher Prometheus Global Media [NYP]
