The End Of PlanetOut

Nine months after selling them Out and Advocate magazines, PlanetOut has been acquired by Regent Media. Regent's purchase of Gay.com and the other remaining PlanetOut assets completes the years-long death spiral of the once-great LGBT media company. It appears that all the former PlanetOut properties will continue to operate under the new combined company.

Regent Entertainment Media, publishers of The Advocate and Out magazines and owner of the here! TV network announced Thursday that it has signed a merger agreement with PlanetOut Inc. The combined company will be known as Here Media Inc, 80% of which will be owned by the owners of Regent Entertainment Media. In addition to here!, The Advocate, and Out, Regent Entertainment Media also publishes HIVPlus and Alyson Books. Its online presence includes Advocate.com, Out.com, HIVPlusMag.com, OutTraveler.com, GayWired.com, and SheWired.com. PlanetOut runs two of the longest-established gay sites on the Web, PlanetOut.com and Gay.com.

“This business combination will unite a powerful broadband video solution with an iconic brand and a leading URL in the LGBT community,” said Paul Colichman, CEO of Regent Entertainment Media. “We are extremely excited about the opportunity to leverage this exceptional collection of assets to expand our audience, grow our revenues, and increase stockholder value.”

Shares of PlanetOut are trading at $0.73 today, down from a 52-week high of $6.28.