AIM sells marine portfolio to US publisher
Firecrown, a US-based publisher focused on hobbies such as aviation, railroads and astronomy, has acquired Active Interest Media (AIM)’s Marine Group. The acquisition expands Firecrown’s marine portfolio to 21 titles covering yachting, boating, fishing and sailing.
AIM publications straddle several sectors, including home building, home arts and collectables. Its marine titles include Sail, Power & Motoryacht, Anglers Journal, Passagemaker, Soundings, Soundings Trade Only and Yachts International. The firm also produces consumer and trade events, TV shows, podcasts and online education platforms like Boaters University.
Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Firecrown was previously known as Flying Media Group. Following the expansion, its full marine platform now includes:
- Boating: Boating, Soundings, Wakeboarding, Boaters University
- Yachts: Power & Motoryacht, Yachting, Yachts International, Passagemaker, Trawlerfest
- Fishing: Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing TV, Anglers Journal
- Sailing: Sail, Sailing World, Cruising World, Helly Hansen Regatta Series
- Marine B2B: Soundings Trade Only
In a statement, Andy Clurman, CEO of Active Interest Media says: “Firecrown has built an incredible platform in the aviation and marine categories. As we further align our portfolio around home building and home arts, Craig Fuller is a fantastic new owner to take our marine assets to the next level.”
Fuller, founder and CEO of Firecrown, adds: “We are excited to bring these leading marine media brands onto the Firecrown platform. This will allow us to offer advertisers greater distribution and our audience more differentiated content. Our goal is to invest significantly in the next generation of these brands.”
Firecrown says it plans to retain AIM’s editorial, sales and publishing staff, aiming to “leverage synergies for growth” in digital, video and events. With this acquisition, Firecrown now has 50 brands aimed at the affluent marine, aviation and hobby sectors.
