Rolling Stone Publisher Sells Majority Stake To Penske, Owner Of Variety

by MR Magazine Staff

Penske Media Corporation has acquired a controlling stake in Wenner Media, the publisher of the famed Rolling Stone magazine, the companies announced on Wednesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the investment values Wenner Media at roughly $100 million, according to a person familiar with the deal. BandLab Technologies, a Singapore-based music technology company, will retain a 49-percent stake in Rolling Stone that it acquired last year. Jann S. Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone, will stay on at Wenner Media as its editorial director. His son, Gus Wenner, will remain president and chief operating officer and will also join the advisory board of Penske Media, whose properties include Variety, Deadline and WWD. The companies said Wenner Media would retain “majority control and editorial oversight” of Rolling Stone. Read more at The New York Times.