Emap, the publisher of magazines such as FHM and Heat, said Friday it agreed to sell its consumer media and radio units to Heinrich Bauer Verlag for 1.14 billion pounds (1.58 billion euros; $2.3 billion) and will return most of the proceeds to shareholders.
The company said it planned to return about 1 billion pounds ($2 billion; 1.4 billion euros) to shareholders following completion of the sale.
The sale is conditional on approval by shareholders in January and the completion of the sale of the company's Irish radio business, Emap said.
Bauer, based in Hamburg, publishes 166 magazines in 14 countries, including 40 magazines in Germany.