It’s official, JPG Magazine won’t close!
January 3, 2009
I have been a JPG Magazine subscriber for some time (thanks Jake) and I was surprised when I got an email from the magazine indicating they were shutting down on January 1st. About 20 minutes after getting the email I sent an email to JPG CEO Mitchell Fox suggesting I would buy the magazine. He called me the next morning and after exchanging a few emails and calls I sent him a term sheet to buy the company around lunchtime. The consensus was that if we were going to save the company we had to act fast. By around 4PM CST I got what seemed like a form email suggesting ‘BIDS’ were due by Wednesday. I called Mitchell and told him we needed to have the lawyers work over the weekend so that we could issue a press release and email to the users on Monday indicating ‘JPG Lives!’ I stressed that a) there are a few moving parts that require we sign at least the term sheet by Monday, b) the value of the asset will deteriorate if we delay and c) I will be leaving to speak at a conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday and basically out for the rest of the week. Mitchell explained that he thought it was only fair to wait a few days to see what other offers might come in.
The folks at JPG have our offer in hand and we are hopeful we get to take over as caretaker of the community. I have a little experience taking over bankrupt or insolvent businesses and JPG looks like a business we can save. We don’t have plans to combine it with another photo site or blog, we simply want to keep JPG as it is: JPG. Based on Mitchell insistence that we delay the acquisition and Mike Arrington’s post, it would seem that we won’t be the new caretaker, but it is clear JPG won’t die - I am pleased to confirm: JPG LIVES!
