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One of the world’s oldest and largest puzzle media companies is being prepared for sale by private equity group BC Partners to tap into investor interest in “braintainment” sparked by the success of games such as Wordle.
Keesing, a Dutch company founded in 1911, is the global market leader in print, online and app-based puzzles from sudoku to crosswords. It produces its own magazines sold through retailers and newsstands, as well as supplying puzzles to other newspapers and media outlets.
BC Partners has appointed Rothschild to explore strategic options for the business, according to two people familiar with the situation. A sale could raise as much as €550mn, they added, with rival private equity groups as well as media companies expected to be interested. The aim is to agree a deal before the summer, one of the people said.
Puzzles have remained a popular pastime even with the shift to digital platforms. In 2022, the New York Times bought word game Wordle for an undisclosed seven-figure sum as a key means to boost its online subscriptions. News apps such as Apple News are also publishing more puzzles to attract users, while Keesing already sells some of its games to Netflix for use on its streaming service.
Keesing provides some 13,000 products in around 20 countries, according to those familiar with the sale process, as well as more than 200 digital games. It uses a content development engine based on a database of words and clues, themes, languages and complexity levels.
The company is forecast to make about €300mn in revenues and €60mn in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation this year. It also owns a significant share in brain training app provider Elevate Labs.
Keesing has grown through a number of acquisitions, including the 2022 buyout of Kappa Publishing, a leading US publisher of puzzle magazines and children’s colouring and activity books.
Since BC Partners bought it in January 2021, Keesing has also acquired Pleyades, the oldest Spanish puzzle publisher, and Küng Gruppe, the Swiss market leader.
BC Partners acquired the company from Ergon Capital and Mediahuis.
The private equity firm has been pushing to exit some of its investments: it has sold about €13bn of stakes in portfolio companies over the past year and a half including drugmaker Synthon in December. It is planning to start fundraising for its latest multibillion buyout fund soon, according to a person familiar with the matter.
BC Partners declined to comment. Keesing and Rothschild did not respond to requests for comment.
