The sale of tech publishing pioneer International Data Group to China Oceanwide Holdings Group and China-based IDG Capital is final.
The deal for China Oceanwide Holdings Group to acquire a majority stake in International Data Group was first announced in January. Tech analyst firm IDC and venture capital firm IDG Ventures are included in the deal.
China Oceanwide hosted an event in Bejing Wednesday to announce the closing of the deal. The companies did not disclose the terms of the sale.
China Oceanwide has said it will focus on growth at IDG and IDC.
IDG publishes PCWorld, Computerworld, CIO, CSO Macworld, InfoWorld, CSO, Network World, IDG.tv, and hundreds of other publications worldwide. IDG, which operates in 97 countries, is also the parent company of the IDG News Service.
IDG was founded in 1964 by Patrick McGovern, who died in March 2014. Since then, the company has been run by a board of directors, which has been seeking a buyer for about a year.
China Oceanwide is a privately held international conglomerate founded by Chairman Zhiqiang Lu in 1985. The company operates businesses in the financial services, real estate assets, media, technology, and strategic investment markets, and it has more than 12,000 employees globally.
The company purchased a stake in Lenovo’s parent company, Legend Holdings, in 2009. It has continued to expand globally and in October last year, it agreed to buy U.S.-based insurance firm Genworth Financial for US$2.7 billion in cash.
IDG Capital is an independently operated investment management partnership, with IDG as one of many limited partners. It was formed in 1993 as China’s first technology venture investment firm.
China Oceanwide will be the controlling shareholder of IDG’s operating businesses, including IDC and IDG Communications, while IDG Capital will become the controlling shareholder of the IDG venture business.
IDG will continue to be headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and managed by its current team.