Hearst set to announce $900 million deal for Lagardere portfolio

Hearst Publishing is expected to announce as early as Monday that it is paying French publishing house Lagardere $900 million for its portfolio of international magazines, according to a story in the New York Post.

Lagardere, whose US unit Hachette Filipacchi publishes such titles as Elle, Woman’s Day and Car and Driver, and Hearst, publisher of Cosmopolitan and Esquire, are expected to announce the deal as early as Monday, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

The deal would make Hearst the clear front-runner in the international magazine business, and close the gap on US titan Time Inc.

Hearst and Lagardere announced on New Year’s Eve they had entered an exclusive negotiating period.

It would make Hearst the landlord, so to speak, for the licensing arrangement that Tanscontinental Media has to publish Elle Quebec and Elle Canada.