WASHINGTON, Mar 2 – News Corp.\’s Dow Jones announced Tuesday that it had bought partner Hearst Corp.\’s half of personal finance magazine SmartMoney.
The move gives Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, 100 percent control over the SmartMoney franchise, which includes SmartMoney magazine, Smartmoney.com and SmartMoney Custom Solutions, a custom publishing division.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
"SmartMoney is a natural fit within Dow Jones, having carried brand association with The Wall Street Journal since its launch," Dow Jones president Todd Larsen said in a statement.
"Having the SmartMoney franchise 100 percent integrated with the Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal teams will provide the avenues for the brand to grow exponentially," Larsen said.
Dow Jones and Hearst were equal partners in SmartMoney, which was launched in 1992 and has a monthly circulation of 800,000.
The magazine covers technology, automotive and lifestyle subjects and provides practical advice on saving, investing, and spending.
According to The Wall Street Journal the number of pages of advertising in SmartMoney fell 23 percent in 2009 from 2008, a trend seen throughout the magazine industry.
Dow Jones plans to integrate SmartMoney\’s editorial employees into its own news staff and there would be a "small number" of layoffs in business operations, the Journal reported last week.
