B2B magazine publisher Incisive Media could receive substantial funding from its owner, private equity firm Apax Partners, after it breached its banking covenants in December, according to FT.com, quoting a source with knowledge of the situation. The publisher of Investment Week and Accountancy Age is in talks with lenders including Royal Bank of Scotland over its outstanding commitments and, although neither side has confirmed an Apax equity injection, it would be a timely intervention in a period when credit is becoming harder and harder to secure. According to the company’s website, Incisive had £400 million of debt in December 2007.

Apax bought Incisive for £208 million in 2006 and raised a massive amount of debt, 7.5 times Incisive’s entire earnings, to seal the deal. Apax had wanted to merge Incisive with Emap, which it bought in partnership with Guardian Media Group for £2 billion in 2007—but finding the capital to fund a merged group proved too difficult. Last year Incisive bought the American Lawyer series of mags for $630 million (436 million) and bought VNU’s UK titles in 2006 for €320 million (£288 million) in 2006.