This follows a report by Moneyweb on 16 September that the publication would publish its final edition at the end of October.
"Parent company Arena Holdings announced the decision in a note to staff on Monday, saying the title’s editorial expertise will be folded into Business Day as part of a strategic integration," states MoneyWeb.
The article further states that Pule Molebeledi, Group CEO of Arena Holdings, promised no job losses as staff transition into other newsroom roles.
The publication also runs the popular AdFocus Awards, which this year has seen entries more than double. Arena Holdings has confirmed that the awards will continue as normal.
The publication showed circulation gains on the previous quarter and prior year in Q3 2024.
The past three quarters (Q4 2024, Q1 2025 and Q2 2025) saw its circulation on the previous quarter decline, but increase on the prior year.
Launched in 1959, the weekly 65-year-old publication publishes financial, economic and political articles that go far beyond beat reporting to provide in-depth analysis of industry and commerce.
Last year, January saw long-time editor, Rob Rose resign.
In 2019, in an article, Rose spoke of how the "magazine was created to be the voice for business, but its initial spirit of sharp inquiry didn’t always sit well with either politicians or CEOs".
The publication follows a trail of print magazines in South Africa and globally that have closed. This is despite a growth in magazines (and newspapers in Q2 2025.
But despite this, Novus Group’s newly released Print Media Report (March 2024–March 2025) shows that South Africans are consuming news differently, shifting to digital platforms for their news. This shift aligns with international trends.
Last year, Media 24 began to transition its print publications to digital.
Arena Holdings is one of Africa’s largest English-language news publishers in print with titles including Sunday Times and others, and online titles, broadcasts on DStv and radio (via Vuma FM and owns several B2B and B2C magazines as well as an events division, amongst others.
