Guardian Media CEO eyes buys ahead of U.S. push

LONDON (Reuters) - The chief executive of Britain's Guardian Media Group said on Monday the company was keen to buy business-to-business assets, but would not confirm whether she has put forward a bid for media group Emap EMA.L.

Emap has attracted private equity and trade buyer interest in its business-to-business (B2B) and consumer magazines, exhibitions and radio assets with initial bids due in last week.

Guardian Media Group Chief Executive Carolyn McCall, who has previously said her company was interested in Emap, told Reuters in an interview that buying B2B assets would help reduce the group's reliance on classified advertising.

"I think B2B is something that we would always look at and Emap is no exception," she said, adding that software technology for the media sector was another interesting acquisition area.

McCall's comments come a few weeks before GMG launches a U.S.-focused news and commentary Web site in the United States.

McCall said her senior management had done a lot of work in recent months on acquisitions strategy and there were a number of media models the London-based group was interested in.

"My aim and the group board's aim is to further diversify our portfolio away from classifieds and the UK economy."

Privately-run Guardian Media Group is owned by the Scott Trust, which was created in 1936 to make sure the Guardian's journalism stays financially and editorially independent.

The company owns the Guardian and Observer newspapers as well as regional newspapers, radio stations and classified advertising via its 50.1 percent stake in Trader Media Group.

Moves into B2B over the past year included the acquisitions of Vebra, a software provider for estate agents and Kable, a public sector research and exhibitions company.

NO RUSH FOR DEALS

GMG raised 675 million pounds ($1.4 billion) this year after it sold its 49.9 percent stake in Trader Media Group to Apax Partners. The business is GMG's classified advertising arm.

Recent newspaper reports said GMG was looking to launch a joint bid for Emap with the private equity group.

GMG is often cited as a potential predator, but with no debt, the money raised from selling its Trader Media stake and no public listing responsibility, McCall feels no need to rush.

"We are not in a hurry. There is no pressure on us. Cash is in the bank, good place to be right now ... and our businesses are in good shape."

McCall said the UK regional media sector was challenging but still generates a lot of cash and was ripe for takeovers.

"I think regional media is up for grabs. It is going to consolidate, it's just when and how. I think exactly the same for radio. We are in two markets where consolidation is going to come, that puts us in a good position because we are good operators in both those markets," she said.

GMG's interest in new businesses comes as it moves to broaden its foothold in the U.S. online media market.

Its new GuardianAmerica.com Web site is headed by former American Prospect editor Michael Tomasky. The site will be underpinned by the Guardian's UK-generated content, bolstered by its own U.S.-based correspondents and columnists and carry links to the Guardian's collective group blog, www.commentisfree.com.

The Guardian Web site has around 6 million unique users in the UK, 5.5 million in the United States and 4.5 million elsewhere, notably in countries like Australia and India.

"This is a content-led strategy," said McCall.

"We will start with news and comment and then we will go from there into looking at areas that we can develop that play to our strengths," she said.

She said the site managed to generate several million users with no marketing because Americans were interested in what others think of their country and U.S. foreign policy.

"They are fascinated because some of them are not comfortable with how they are portrayed in the world," she said.