VNU, the global media and information company based in Holland, has announced that it will consider putting its Business Media Europe (BME) division up for sale as part of a strategic review of the company.

BME is a business-to-business publishing company with a portfolio of over 70 magazines and events in seven countries across Europe, including UK magazines Accountancy Age, Computing and IT Week. It also has a significant online presence with 14 sites including the technology network VUNet. 

It is thought that one option for a sale would be to divide the business into two units, with one unit consisting of the UK trade titles and events business and the other consisting of the Dutch online and printed career development title Intermediair and a number of other employment websites. 

VNU cited BME's poor alignment with its marketing information and media measurement businesses as the reason for the potential sale, and confirmed that its US division Business Information would not be part of any sale, as it has greater synergies with these core activities. 

US investment bank Goldman Sachs are to carry out the review, and it is estimated that BME could sell for around €500m. Private equity firm Apax has been tipped as a strong contender for the business if it is sold as a whole.