Crikey, Australia’s most successful ezine, has been sold to Eric Beecher and Di Gribble, publishers of The Reader, for $1 million. Citing a desire to “take Crikey to the next level”, Stephen Mayne, the founder of Crikey, said the sale would allow him to concentrate on shareholder activism and his wife to return to her legal career. The sale involves the Beecher-Gribble company Private Media Partners (PMP) making a $200,000 non-refundable deposit in instalments during 2005. PMP will assume full management control of Crikey on March 1, 2005, but must complete the sale by September 2006 or hand back control. crikey.com.au The Reader This is the text of the email sent to crikey.com.au subscribers at 9.25am today. Dear beloved 5,300 Crikey sole subscribers, After almost five years of operation, yesterday afternoon Stephen Mayne and Paula Piccinini signed binding contracts for the $1 million sale of Crikey. The buyers are Eric…