The unit of business publishing company Reed Elsevier said it was selling Variety as part of its efforts of the past three years to divest its U.S. business magazines.

"With RBI's increasing focus on data services, and the sale of our other US print magazines, it now makes sense for us to sell the business," Reed Business Information Chief Executive Mark Kelsey said in a statement.

"Variety has an incredibly talented team who have successfully innovated and expanded the franchise in industry news and analysis. I have no doubt the business will continue to thrive under new ownership," Kelsey added.

Variety started life in New York in 1905 as a weekly entertainment-trade magazine and went to a daily edition based in Los Angeles in 1933. It now also has a website and covers TV and movie reviews, box-office data, and business deals in the global entertainment industry.

The publication is known for its insider jargon, including terms like "skeins" for TV series, and "toppers" to describe corporate leaders.

Variety president Neil Stiles said in a statement on Friday that he had "every confidence that under new ownership, Variety will continue to thrive, innovate and provide fantastic insight into the sector."

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Carol Bishopric)

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