In a multi-million dirhams acquisition, Mediaquest Corp has taken the reins of both the publishing and events divisions of Gray Business Communications (IOM) Ltd (GBC).
The deal, inked this week and taking effect from 2 January, 2008 adds a number of respected brands to the Mediaquest portfolio including Gulf Marketing Review, GMR-Online, Al Tasweeq Al Arabi and RaceWeek. In addition, Mediaquest takes a number of specialist sports publications in addition to the GBC Events division.
Mediaquest, headed by Alexandre and Julien Hawari, has an established stable of publications comprising Communicate, Trends, Saneou Al Hadath and Shaheen. The group also includes Medialeader, the media representation division and data management division, ‘Quest Communications’.
Already one of the largest publishers in the region, with some 14 titles in three different languages, Mediaquest Corp has reported 40% business growth during 2007 and forecasts significantly higher growth during 2008 with the recent acquisition of the additional titles from GBC.
Alexandre Hawari, Co-CEO of Mediaquest Corp. confirmed GBC director, Barry Gray will move to Mediaquest on a consultative basis to aid the integration of the business and to support future developments of the company.
”Barry brings a wealth of publishing knowledge with him, having launched and run a diverse range of regional publications, building publications that enjoy a strong readership and advertiser base.
“These additional products offer significant synergies with those already under the Mediaquest Corp. umbrella. Due to the high quality of their offerings, the acquisition seemed a natural progression for us, and a perfect fit with our current operations.
“Having the combined titles under one roof will enable us to build on and further innovate around them. We aim to increase readership appeal and simultaneously allow advertisers to better target their markets.”
About Mediaquest Corp:
Mediaquest Corp, founded in 1987, Headed by Alexandre and Julien Hawari is one of the largest publishing houses within the Middle East operating across three continents and publishing in three languages; English, French and Arabic. The company built its reputation through a portfolio of well regarded business titles including Trends, Saneou Al Hadath, Arabies and Communicate.
Mediaquest Corp is a holding company, which includes Medialeader and Quest communications and is active in both traditional and new media with activities ranging from publishing to TV production and digital communication.
About Gray Business Communications:
Gray Business Communications (GBC) was established in 1995 by Judith Gray and initially specialized in media representation of international publications. The company added publishing in 1998 following the launch of RaceWeek magazine (1995) and later the acquisition of Gulf Marketing Review (1998) from UK-based publisher, Emap Plc.
The company, incorporated in the UK, operates through three operating divisions – Publishing, Events and Marketing and with two distinct companies; GBC UAE and GBC Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian operation was licensed to an independent operator during 2007 and following this divestment the UAE operation will continue to trade in media representation.
