Here is the press release (contact info removed, email me if you need it) regarding the sale of On Our Backs and Girlfriends Magazine I received from H.A.F. Publishing:

ONLINE MEDIA COMPANY BUYS POPULAR LESBIAN MAGAZINES, NEWSLETTERS, AND WEBSITES

San Francisco, CA: H.A.F Publishing has agreed to sell majority assets of Girlfriends and On Our Backs magazines to an online media company. The sale will involve the magazines’ brands, inventory, various assigned licenses and copyright to back content, and all online and newsletter properties; the publisher is also considering other offers on additional aspects of the magazines’ assets. The transaction was initiated by Letter of Intent on February 10, 2006 and is expected to close in late April, at which time the buyer will announce the acquisition as well as its strategies for the assets.

The buyer stated that it was attracted to the magazines’ strong brand recognition in the lesbian market, a combined print and online circulation of more than 100,000, and the magazines’ reputable, award-winning editorial. The buyer specified that it does not have immediate plans for print editions but is very interested in building out the online properties to tap into the growing market for Internet-based ad revenue.

H.A.F. Publishing will continue to publish its popular series of official guides to major San Francisco events, including Inside Pride, the official guide to San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade and Celebration. Gay Pride in San Francisco is California’s largest outdoor event, drawing more than 500,000 participants; H.A.F. has published its program for 11 years. In 2004 it added the Folsom and Castro Street Fairs to its guide business.

President and Editor in Chief of H.A.F. Publishing Heather Findlay stated, “I had an incredible 12 years with Girlfriends and I’m proud to have been part of On Our Backs’ long tradition of sass and controversy. I think the brands have an exciting future under new ownership and in a new medium.” Findlay further stated that she will be pursuing new opportunities, including an online venture dedicated to wine, as well as continuing to chair the board of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, a New York City-based foundation dedicated to environmental justice and reproductive rights. Findlay will be in New York in early March and then on assignment in South African wine country; she will return to the Bay Area in April to help complete the transition to the new buyer.

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