Penske Media Corporation, which also own Variety and Deadline, has quietly acquired full ownership n the venerable music publication Rolling Stone. Penske Media, which acquired a controlling stake in Rolling Stone in December 2017 from longtime publisher Jann Wenner, now has bought the outstanding shares from minority partner BandLab Technologies.
Since they acquired the lion’s share of Rolling Stone in 2017, PMC has revamped the magazine, changing its publishing schedule from weekly to monthly and redesigning both its print and digital editions, according to Vanity Fair. The company also shifted focus to developing the brand into a live event producer.
Earlier this month, the brand announced plans for a major international expansion, with expanded coverage and live events in the United Kingdom and the Asia-Pacific region.
PMC also retained Jann Wenner as an editor emeritus and kept his son Gus Wenner in place as chief operating officer and president of Rolling Stone.
Penske is the son of Roger Penske, the founder of the Penske Corporation automotive conglomerate. In addition to Rolling Stone, Penske’s media holdings include Deadline,Variety, Indiewire, The Hollywood Life and the Robb Report, among others.