For the South African media group, see Primedia Broadcasting
RentPath Inc. is a privately held American media company owned by TPG Capital and Providence Equity Partners LLC.
Organized in 1989 as K-III Communications Corporation by private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the company made a series of acquisitions of niche publications under Bill Reilly's leadership in the 1990s. The firm went public in 1995, selling stock 15 million shares at approximately $12 per share, in a deal that left Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with control of 82.2% of the company's shares. The firm adopted the Primedia name as of November 18, 1997 to more clearly focus on its core business. Primedia sold a group of 17 outdoor-oriented magazines to InterMedia Outdoors for $170 million in cash, in a deal that included Guns and Ammo and Fly Fisherman. In 2007 Primedia sold its Enthusiast Media division to Source Interlink in a deal that netted Primedia $1.15 billion in cash in exchange for a group of more than 70 magazines, including Motor Trend and Soap Opera Digest and 90 consumer web sites. The deal left Primedia to focus on a series of free print and online consumer guides published by its Consumer Source unit.
In 2011, private equity firm TPG Capital bought Primedia for $525 million. In 2013, the company changed its name to RentPath.
In 2014, Providence Equity Partners LLC acquired 50% of the company.
In July 2015, former CEO of AutoTrader, Chip Perry, was named president and CEO of RentPath. He succeeded Charles Stubbs who has remained on the RentPath board of directors.
In November 2015, Chip Perry stepped down as president and CEO of RentPath, to take over as CEO of TrueCar.
RentPath's CFO, Kim Payne, has stepped in as interim president and CEO as of November 2015.
RentPath named Marc P. Lefar as President and CEO on April 4, 2016.
1989 – Founded as K-III Communications, a new venture financed by the investment group Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Co.
1989 – Purchased Intertec Publishing, Macmillan Book Clubs (renamed Newbridge Communications), and Gryphon Editions from Macmillan and Webb Publishing from Maxwell Communications
1990 - Acquired Ward's from Thomson Corporation
1990 – Purchased business publications of Andrews Communications
1990 – Acquired Readers Garden, operator of special interest book clubs
1990 – Acquired Weekly Reader and Funk & Wagnalls from Marshall Field 5th
1991 – Purchased 9 magazines from News Corporation for $600 million.Daily Racing Form
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Weekly
New York
Seventeen
Premiere
European Travel & Life
Automobile
New Woman
1992 – Acquired medical publisher Krames
1992 - Acquired Films for the Humanities & Sciences
1993 – Acquired three magazines from Wiesner
1993 – Acquired World Almanac from Scripps
1994 – Acquired Stagebill
1994 – Acquired Katharine Gibbs
1994 – Acquired Haas Publishing, now Consumer Source Inc.
1995 – Went public
1995 – Acquired Chicago from Landmark Communications
1995 – Acquired McMullen & Yee Publishing, a publisher of automotive magazine
1996 – Acquired 14 publications from Cahners Consumer Magazines
1996 – Acquired Pro Football Weekly
1996 – Acquired Westcott Communications (later renamed Primedia Workplace Learning)
1997 - Acquired Farm Press
1997 – Acquired Intellichoice
1997 – Sold Krames to Times Mirror
1997 – New Woman sold to Rodale
1997 – Katharine Gibbs sold to Career Education Corporation
1997 – Acquires Park Avenue Publishing, publisher of Lowrider
1997 – Changed name to Primedia Inc.
1998 – Acquires Cowles Enthusiast Media and Cowles Business Media divisions of Cowles Media Company from McClatchy Newspapers
1998 – Daily Racing Form sold to private investors
1998 – Stagebill sold to Fred B. Tarter
1998 – Newbridge Communications sold to Doubleday Direct
1998 – Acquired Sterling/MacFadden's teen magazines and teen publisher Laufer Publishing
1999 – Primedia's education unit (Weekly Reader, World Almanac) sold to Ripplewood Holdings
1999 – Acquired Multimedia Publishing
1999 – Sold Better Nutrition, Southwest Art, and Vegetarian Times to Sabot Publishing
2000 – Acquired About.com
2001 – Purchased EMAP's US magazines (formerly Petersen Publishing)
2001 – Closed Country Journal
2002 – Modern Bride sold to Condé Nast Publications
2002 – Pro Football Weekly sold to Arkush family
2002 – Chicago sold to Tribune Company
2002 – American Baby sold to Meredith Corporation
2003 – Volleyball, Teddy Bear and Friends and Doll Reader sold to Ashton International Media
2003 – Seventeen sold to Hearst Corporation
2003 – New York sold to Bruce Wasserstein
2003 – Tiger Beat and Bop sold to Laufer Media
2003 – Kitplanes sold to Belvoir Publications
2003 – Simba Information sold to R.R. Bowker
2004 – Sold Folio: and Circulation Management to Red 7 Media
2005 – About.com sold to The New York Times Company
2005 – Sold business information segment (ex-Intertec) to private investors Wasserstein & Co. (later merged with Penton Media)
2005 - Sold Ward's to Prism Business Media
2006 – Sold history magazines to Weider History Group
2006 – Sold Crafts Group to Sandler Capital Management
2006 - Sold Outdoor Group to InterMedia Partners
2007 – Sold Enthusiast Media group (containing the vast majority of Primedia's magazines) to Source Interlink, controlled by Ronald Burkle, for $1.2 billion.
2007 – Sold Gems group to Interweave
2007 – Sold Climbing to Skram Media
2007 - Sold Films for the Humanities & Sciences to Infobase Publishing
2007 – Sold Channel One News to Alloy Media and Marketing
2008 – Sold South Florida Auto Guide and Wisconsin Auto Guide to TargetMedia Partners; closes Atlanta Auto Guide
2009 – Closes Today's Custom Home
2011 – TPG Capital acquires company
2012 – Acquires rent.com from eBay for an undisclosed amount.
2014 - Acquires San Francisco startup Lovely for $13 million.
2014 - Providence Equity Partners LLC becomes an equal partner with TPG Capital.
4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine
Automobile Magazine
Car Craft
Dirt Rider
Four Wheeler
Home Theater
Hot Bike
Hot Rod Magazine
JP Magazine
Lowrider Magazine
Mini Truckin Magazine
Modified Magazine
Mopar Muscle Magazine
Motorcyclist
Motor Trend
Mustang Monthly
Peterson's 4-Wheel & Off Road
Power & Motoryacht
Project car tuner magazine
Sail Magazine
SLAM Magazine
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Weekly
Sport Compact Car
Stereophile
Super Street
Truckin Magazine
Truck Trend
Sport Truck
as well as Automotive.com, Intellichoice.com, [4][5], [6], [7] web sites
Arabian Horse World
Dressage Today
EQUUS
Horse & Rider
Practical Horseman
EquiSearch.com website
Bike Magazine
Bodyboarding Magazine
Box Inline Skate Magazine
Canoe & Kayak Magazine
Powder Magazine
Skateboarder Magazine
Slam Magazine
Snowboarder Magazine
Surfer
Surfing Magazine
