Bath-based publishing group Future is to buy rival Imagine Publishing in a £14.2m deal – extending its portfolio of titles to include a further 19 magazines in the process.
The takeover will add the Retro Gamer and World of Animals titles and digital platforms to Future’s portfolio, which already includes T3 and PC Gamer. 
Imagine’s stable also includes GamesTM, Nowgamer.com, X-ONE, Play, For Beginners and SciFiNow.
Future chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne said: “This is a unique opportunity to acquire a market-leading knowledge, science and technology content business which will complement and expand our capabilities.
“The acquisition will enable us to scale significantly our market position in bookazines and will see us enter the knowledge vertical, broadening our reach.”
Imagine had revenues of £16.4m in the year to March 31. In May Future acquired publishing and events company Blaze, whose IP included a range of music and shooting brands.
