The deal, for an undisclosed sum, was signed on Thursday evening (10 July).
Polestar currently prints Sally Salon Services’ PRO Hair & Beauty magazine for River, as well as a number of one-off projects, but according to Polestar chief executive Barry Hibbert there are no plans for Polestar to take on the production of River’s entire portfolio.
“Polestar will pitch like every other printer on the roster of preferred suppliers. This is how we operate already. Even within the Polestar group we outsource £10m of print every year. River will remain independent commercially and will look for the best deal, service and cost as they do already,” said Hibbert.
While Polestar and River will share common ownership, according to Sun Capital the two companies will “remain independent, but will work closely together on specific retail and brand projects”.
“We will reap the benefits on behalf of clients and staff of being part of a bigger group. There are many synergies in service capability and I look forward to adding to River’s services with the backing of a strong financial owner,” said Nicola Murphy, who will retain her role as River Group chief executive.
Murphy and Hibbert will report independently to Sun.
Hibbert and Polestar group finance director Peter Johnston were both appointed directors of The River Group last Friday (11 July), according to documents filed at Companies House, which also list Murphy as a director.
She also maintains an undisclosed minority stake in the business.
However, editorial director Jane Wynn, who jointly founded the business with Murphy in 1994, and chairman Michael Williams both resigned as directors on 11 July. Of the two, only Wynn remains with business post acquisition.
According to Hibbert, the feedback from Polestar’s publishing clients has been “very supportive” and in many respects the collaborative relationship that Sun’s acquisition of River will create is already common in the publishing sector.
“We will share ideas and both our organisations will work together for the benefit of customers when it makes sense to do so. Our cultures are very different but complementary and this is a great strength," said Hibbert.
“The whole industry is changing and evolving rapidly with publishers, printers, distributors and multi-channel suppliers working together to manage the changing landscape and consumer trends.
“Competition is very strong across all areas of content delivery, but so too is collaboration within the industry for the benefit of consumers and end-users.”
In its most recent filed accounts, to March 2013, River returned a pre-tax profit of £253,000 on revenues of £18.2m and employed just over 90 staff.
