This year, three separate business-to-business publishers went to market looking to sell their companies, and each received the same dismaying message: Despite having grown their revenues and increased their profitability, none of the bids met their business valuations.For the three publishers—Questex, Endeavor, and Freightwaves—the news was not a surprise. The market for mergers and acquisitions soured in 2022 when a host of unfavorable macroeconomic factors, including interest rate hikes, inflation, political uncertainty, and a challenging regulatory environment, came together to reorder the financial landscape. The conditions have made it challenging for traditional…
