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PR Newswire Sold to Cision for $841 Million

LONDON — UBM, the British business-events organizer, said on Tuesday that it had agreed to sell the news-release distribution service PR Newswire to Cision, the owner of Gorkana Group, for $841 million.

The deal came after UBM said in September that it was in “highly preliminary discussions” with several parties to sell PR Newswire.

Under the terms of the deal, UBM would receive $810 million in cash and $31 million of preferred equity.

Cision, based in Chicago, is a provider of public-relations software and analytics, and its brands include the Gorkana Group, PR Web and iContact. It is owned by GTCR Private Equity.

“We are serious about building a comprehensive platform to help our clients manage the entire life cycle of communications — from influencer discovery and content distribution to engagement and campaign analysis,” Peter Granat, the chief executive of Cision, said in a news release.

The transaction is subject to approval by regulators and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

PR Newswire, based in New York, distributes news releases and other marketing messages for companies, primarily in the United States and Canada. Its primary competitor is Business Wire, a similar service owned by Warren E. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

PR Newswire derives about half its revenue from distribution in the United States and had about $297 million in revenue last year, according to UBM.

Deutsche Bank, Barclays and RBC Capital Markets would provide debt financing to Cision as part of the transaction.

UBM, based in London, organizes trade shows and is focusing more of its business on those events after its acquisition last year of Advanstar, a marketer and trade show organizer based in California, for $972 million in cash. The events sector accounts for more than 80 percent of UBM’s business.

“Today’s announcement represents a significant step in the execution of UBM’s ‘Events First’ strategy, the objective of which is to become the world’s leading focused B2B events business,” Tim Cobbold, the UBM chief executive, said in a news release. “The board is confident that this transaction realizes excellent value for our shareholders.”

UBM said that after the transaction, it planned to return about 245 million pounds, or $371 million, to shareholders through a special dividend.

Evercore and JPMorgan Chase advised UBM on the transaction.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: Business Briefing; PR Newswire Is Sold by UBM for $841 Million. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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