Boston Ventures buys Oakstone Publishing

Private equity firm Boston Ventures said today that it will build upon its expertise in the publishing industry with the acquisition of Oakstone Publishing, which serves the medical education and corporate wellness industries.

The seller of Oakstone Publishing is Haights Cross Communications, a White Plains, N.Y., firm that said that terms of the transaction were not being disclosed.

Based in Alabama, Oakstone Medical provides continuing education content, and it has long-standing relationships with physicians and key strategic alliances with US medical organizations, including Harvard Medical School, Boston Ventures said.

Oakstone's other brand, Personal Best, provides health and wellness information that promotes healthful lifestyles to employees through a range of integrated offerings, including print and electronic newsletters, Boston Ventures said.

"We plan to leverage Boston Ventures' experience in the publishing sector to grow the two segments of Oakstone's business," Elizabeth Granville-Smith, a managing director at Boston Ventures, said in a statement. "We see a number of strategic initiatives that can develop both the medical and wellness businesses. Oakstone Medical's strategic relationships, product development capabilities, and electronic publishing infrastructure provide a solid platform for future growth."

Boston Ventures said it has made several other recent investments in the publishing sector, including Home Pages LLC, an independent, regionally concentrated community yellow pages publisher of approximately 135 town-centric local yellow pages directories in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana; it said it also recently invested in New Track Media, which publishes special interest consumer magazines such as Sky & Telescope, American Woodworker, and Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)