By April Hall
Crain Communications is now solely in the hands of Keith Crain and his family.
The company's board of directors announced that Keith's brother, Rance Crain, and his family sold their 50% stake in the business to Keith and his family.
As a result, Rance will step down as president, editorial director and board director of the company; his daughter Cindi Crain will also step down from the board. Keith, who is chairman of Crain Communications, has named his sons to top executive posts: KC is president and COO, and Chris is senior executive vice president of the company.
The terms of the deal were not released.
The deal ends an era of competition between Keith and Rance, which
Family Business
Magazine detailed while matriarch Gertrude Crain was chairman of Crain Communications. Gertrude led the company until her death in 1993.
(Related Story:
Mother in the Middle
)
Crain Communications, founded by Keith and Rance's father, G.D. Crain, in 1916, is a privately held family business with 54 media brands, including
Automotive News
, of which Keith was the publisher and editor-in-chief, and
Advertising Age
, where Rance started as a reporter and eventually served as publisher.
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