Delhi Press acquires Motoring magazine from Business Standard

Motoring changes hands after 18 years of association with the business newspaper.

Delhi Press has announced that it has acquired BS Motoring magazine, the auto magazine published by Business Standard (BS) for an undisclosed amount. The magazine will be published by Delhi Press from the May issue onwards.

The formal takeover of the magazine was concluded today, April 16, between Paresh Nath, editor-in-chief and publisher of Delhi Press, and TN Ninan, chairman of Business Standard.

Talking about the acquisition, Nath says, "Over the past few years we have been looking at different ways to strengthen our portfolio, either by new launches or by acquisitions. BS Motoring has been an extremely strong brand in its genre and we believe that we can further build on its legacy to make it the leading auto-enthusiasts' magazine in the country."

Adding on to that Anant Nath, director, Delhi Press and editor, The Caravan says, "We hope to continue to shape the magazine such that it stands apart by it cliquish flavour, bold visual representations, innovative columns, nuanced writing and varied topicality, serving as an authentic forum for satisfying the interests of worthy auto aficionados."

Motoring was started as single page in 1995, dedicated exclusively to automobiles and later, in 1998 it was turned into a standalone quarterly magazine. The magazine became a monthly offering the next year, in January 1999.

After the takeover, the editorial and business teams of Motoring will move along with the magazine to Delhi Press' office. Pablo Chatterji, who has been associated with the magazine for the last ten years, will be its new managing editor. The earlier editor of the magazine, Srinivas Krishnan, quit in February.

In an official communiqué, Ninan says, "We have been proud to give birth to and develop BS Motoring over the past decade and more. Its further growth needs the synergies of an established magazine publishing house, whereas Business Standard is essentially a broad-sheet group. We are confident that the magazine will find a hospitable home in Delhi Press."

Delhi Press has been on an expansion spree lately. Recently, the group also launched two children's magazine in collaboration with US-based Highlights for Kids publication house. The two magazines Highlights Champs and Highlights Genies were launched in April.

For the record, Delhi Press was established in 1939 and today it publishes 34 magazines in nine languages including The Caravan, Woman's Era, Grihshobha, Champak,and SarasSalil. It is a full service publishing house with its own printing facilities and its own distribution and logistics company that reaches out to more than 3,000 magazine distributors and agents.