The Boston-based ABRY Partners, a media company that invests exclusively in media and communication companies, has purchased the parent company of Krause Publications, F &W Publications.  Earlier this year ICv2 reported that F&W was on the block (see 'Krause Parent For Sale') for between $550 and $650 million.  ABRY Partners, which has over $7 billion in assets under management and since 1989 has completed over $18 billion of leveraged transactions in the media and communications industries, has not announced the purchase price it paid for F&W.

Several sources at Krause have told ICv2 that the sale of F&W is not expected to result in any changes in management for Krause, which employs some 400 people.  Founded by Chet Krause in 1952, Krause Publications was owned by its employees before it was sold to F&W in 2002.  F&W has over 200 media properties with 1.9 million active magazine subscribers and books sold in the U.S. and internationally.