The 103-year-old Hollywood trade paper Variety was put up auction on Thursday when Anglo-Dutch company Reed Elsevier put its publishing unit up for sale.

The company said the planned sale was strategic, part of a move away from advertising-dependent to subscription-based publications and information services and no reflection on the performance of its Reed Business Information unit.

“We’ve taken the decision to get into less cyclical markets where there’s less exposure to advertising,” spokesman Patrick Kerr said.

Reed Business Information publishes the Variety papers and hundreds of other periodicals globally, including Broadcasting & Cable and Publishers Weekly. The company’s revenue in 2007 was $1.7 billion.

Posted: 02|22|08 at 11:12 am. Filed under: US News.