Spotlight: Petersen Publishing Is Sold for $450 Million

Magazine publisher Petersen Publishing Co. was acquired for $450 million by a group led by Willis Stein & Partners of Chicago, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The deal was announced in August, but not its terms. The Los Angeles firm publishes, among other titles, Motor Trend, Guns & Ammo and Teen--whose 1.3 million circulation makes it the company’s largest publication. Petersen had fiscal 1995 revenue of $213.6 million, 58% of which was from ad sales.