The Philadelphia Citizen is in negotiations to buy Philadelphia Magazine

Investors involved with the Philadelphia Citizen, a media nonprofit, are currently in negotiations to purchase Philadelphia Magazine, multiple sources confirmed to The Inquirer.

Talks to sell the storied print publication to an investor-backed group tied to the digital media and events company have unfolded over the course of more than a year. According to several sources familiar with discussions, efforts to finance the acquisition are being led by venture capitalist Richard Vague and Michael Forman, CEO of FS Investments.

Larry Platt, cofounder of the Citizen, declined to comment beyond saying: “We’re always interested in talking about ways to grow the Citizen and further the mission to constructively impact the city and region.”

Sources also said key details, like purchase price and terms of sale, remain undecided. They said the backers are still trying to recruit other investors and hope to form a new media group that would encompass both publications.

Forman, through a spokesperson, declined to comment, as did Vague.

The Citizen, a nonprofit cofounded in 2015 by lawyer Ajay Raju and Platt, promotes nonpartisan “solutions-based journalism” and holds “civic-minded events,” according to its website.

It is smaller and newer than Philadelphia Magazine, known for its annual “Best of Philly” rankings and its monthly glossy print product. David Lipson, the owner of the Metrocorp company that has long owned Philadelphia Magazine, declined to comment on the possible sale.

“We talk to a variety of people from time to time,” he told The Inquirer. “I don’t like to comment on rumors or stuff. Let other people speculate.”

Philadelphia Magazine was founded in 1908 by the Trades League of Philadelphia, a precursor to the city’s Chamber of Commerce, and purchased by publisher S. Arthur Lipson in 1946. The family later acquired other, similar metropolitan magazines, like Boston and Atlanta Magazines, all of which became known for award-winning news features paired with local dining and lifestyle coverage.

Earlier this year, Metrocorp sold Boston Magazine to Boston Globe Media. The parent company of the Boston Globe, it is owned by billionaires John and Linda Henry. He also owns the Liverpool Football Club, the Boston Red Sox, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The connections between the Citizen and Philadelphia Magazine already run deep. Platt, 61, is a former Philly Mag editor who went on to work at the Philadelphia Daily News. Several other Citizen staffers also worked for the magazine.

A nonprofit financial disclosure form showed that the Citizen had a $1.1 million budget in 2024, mostly from grants or other contributions, and its online masthead lists 11 staffers. Vague is described as a “founding donor” of the Citizen and is a periodic contributor. Forman is described as a “supporter,” and his company has sponsored several Citizen events.

According to people with knowledge of sales discussions, Platt has pitched maintaining both outlets, while reorienting the magazine in a more urban-focused direction. He has said he found the merger appealing because Philadelphia Magazine focuses on “how to live well” and the Citizen on “how to do good,” and he saw a synergy between those two aims.

According to a source who was familiar with the negotiations, The Inquirer was also at one time in talks to purchase Philadelphia Magazine.

An Inquirer spokesperson declined to comment.

With plummeting reach and declining ad sales, it’s a rocky time for local print media. Philadelphia Magazine has gone through at least two rounds of restructuring over the last five years, laying off staff as recently as April.

Lipson has made no secret of his longer-term interest in unloading his family’s print magazines. At the time of the Boston sale, Lipson told the Globe that the “timing was just right.”

“I’m getting older, and the business is changing, and none of my kids were interested in getting into the business,” Lipson said.

The story has been updated to correct the order of Platt’s work history.