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Baby boomer publisher Your Life Choices sold to Compare Club

One of Australia’s small publishers, Your Life Choices, has sold to comparison platform, Compare Club.

Your Life Choices’ publisher Kaye Fallick said the sale was a massive win for both parties.

Your Life Choices was founded in 1999

“When you’re a small publisher, it’s really gratifying when you get someone who acknowledges the work you do and wants to buy in,” she told Mumbrella, adding, “it’s a big deal”.

She said being a small publisher is hard work, and can feel like you’re out on your own. Now, however, Your Life Choices will be able to scale up its operations, she said.

“They’ve got really good CMS expertise,” she said of Your Life Choices’ new owner. “In terms of improving our website and our user experience and offering new activities, they can see a really great opportunity there,” she said.

“This allows us to go to the next stage, [and] give our audience new forms of content.”

Your Life Choices’ target audience is the over 50s, facing retirement and those who have retired. Fallick noted with Compare Club’s backing, the publisher would be able to introduce more video content and gamification, as well as expand its reach.

Your Life Choices will be able to, Fallick said, double its database within six months. It currently claims a subscriber base of 230,000, with 87% aged between 50 and 75.

Fallick insisted though that the new audience found via Compare Clubwould be like-minded, quality readers, who would maintain the publication’s engagement and time on site.

Fallick is staying with the publication

“It’s a match made in heaven, with Your Life Choices’ highly targeted 50-plus subscriber base and strong engagement, and Compare Club’s relevant verticals and digital firepower,” Fallick added via a statement.

Compare Club’s CEO Andrew Davis added: “Compare Club has an active database of more than three million, and we cover many verticals of interest to the mature consumer, particularly health, insurance, energy and credit. This acquisition allows us to support the acceleration of YLC’s growth and widen the commercial offering.”

The sale was for an undisclosed sum. The entire YLC team is moving across as part of the acquisition, and will act as a unit within the wider Compare Club business. Fallick has signed a 12-month contract as a consultant.

Your Life Choices’ competitor Starts at 60 is backed by Seven West Media.

Other independent publishers in recent years to sell to non-publishing operations include youth-orientated publisher Junkee Media, which sold to outdoor company Ooh Media in 2016. Ooh acquired 85% of the company for $11.05m.

And in 2015, Nine began its full acquisition of youth publisher Pedestrian.

Mumbrella sold to events and exhibitions business Diversified Communications in 2017 for an undisclosed sum.

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