Future’s purchase of Imagine is going ahead

The proposed acquisition of Imagine Publishing by Future has been given the green light.

The Competition and Markets Authority has given the deal the go-ahead after wanting to take a closer look at its implications.

Central to this investigation was a concern that the science fiction magazine market would take a hit with Imagine’s Sci-Fi Now and SFX from Future being part of the same organisation.

Future says it has agreed with the CMA to ring-fence Sci-Fi Now ‘pending resolution of this issue’. In practical terms, this means that the publication will be operating outside of Future’s day-to-day business, thus the company can’t gain any competitive advantage.

Future is hoping the deal will go through by Friday, October 21st.

Future’s games portfolio includes Official PlayStation Magazine, Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer and GamesMaster, while Imagine publishes games titles such as GamesTM, RetroGamer, NowGamer.com, X-One and Play.

The news that Future was to acquire Imagine’s parent company –Miura –broke in June.

"The acquisition of Imagine, which will complement and expand our capabilities, is a further substantial step towards our strategy of creating content that connects, increasing scale and improving operational efficiency,” said Future CEO Zillah Byng-Thorne.

We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with the CMA so quickly. The financial and operational implications of selling one title are minimal. Last year Imagine issued 265 magazines and 257 bookazines as well as delivered 2.4m and 1m copy sales respectively. We look forward to completing the acquisition and integrating the Imagine Publishing portfolio into the business over the next few months.”