Bloomberg buys BusinessWeek

Bloomberg LP, the financial news and data provider founded by New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, said that it has won the bid for McGraw-Hill Companies' loss-making, 80-year-old BusinessWeek magazine and its web edition for an undisclosed sum.

But BusinessWeek reported that sources with knowledge of the situation said the price tag is believed to be $2 million to $5 million.

New York-based McGraw-Hill said the transaction is expected to close in this quarter.

McGraw-Hill put BusinessWeek up for sale in July in the middle of a precipitous decline in advertising revenue. There was speculation at the time that the title might simply be shut down.

Though it has a presence on the Web, radio and television, Bloomberg primarily transmits financial information through 300,000 proprietary terminals that are a mainstay in investment banks and financial firms worldwide. It also publishes a monthly magazine.