J. P. Morgan Chase Invest in Johnson Publishing Company, Publisher of EBONY Magazine

Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., the publisher of EBONY and JET magazines and owner of Fashion Fair Cosmetics, a global cosmetics brand for women of color, today announced that JPMorgan Chase’s Special Investments Group (SIG) will become an investor in the company. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Linda Johnson Rice, chairman of Johnson Publishing Company, said, “J. P. Morgan Chase’s investment in our firm is a logical outgrowth of our longstanding relationship.  It positions Johnson Publishing for continued growth as a family-owned publisher of the Black community’s most-trusted media brands by providing financial resources to take our iconic EBONY and JET magazines to the next level and accelerate our growth strategy for Fashion Fair Cosmetics.”

“We are grateful for the support of our readers, advertisers and business partners, and we are excited about the future opportunities this investment creates for our company,” Rice added.

EBONY and JET have served the Black community for more than 60 years. With circulation of 1.25 million copies per month and 800,000 per week, they are the number 1 and 3 publications, respectively, focused on Black America. Launched in 1973, Fashion Fair Cosmetics is a global prestige cosmetics brand for women of color that is currently sold in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and the Caribbean.

Greg O'Hara, head of SIG, said, "We are delighted to partner with our client Johnson Publishing Company, with which we have worked for more than 40 years. This investment demonstrates our commitment to Johnson Publishing’s iconic brands, which have stood the test of time.”