Hanley Wood Nails Another Acquisition

Company adds a roofing association tradeshow to its construction portfolio

By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 5/31/2004

Hanley Wood Exhibitions' construction portfolio is now one show larger with the acquisition of the Natl. Roofing Contractors Assn.'s annual tradeshow.

Under association ownership, the show in recent years has spanned 90,000 net square feet and drawn up to 8,000 attendees. The for-profit-based Hanley Wood has plans to grow the show by expanding from commercial roofing into the residential roofing market.

Hanley Wood's construction show expertise was part of why its purchase bid was selected over those submitted by other suitors. All but one of Hanley Wood's 14 shows cover the building and construction sector. "We're very pleased with the deal, and we're very pleased with the partner we have," said Bill Good, the association's executive vice president. "It was a pleasure to do business with them, and they have a real stake in the construction show business."

Hanley Wood can also offer synergies through its related magazines, namely Replacement Contractor, JLC Live and the Remodeler. Galen Poss, president of Hanley Wood Exhibitions, said the commercial roofing industry has been challenged in recent years, causing the show to shrink. But residential construction, including roofing, has remained strong, even during the recession.

Good said the sale was supported by the association board – which represents a broad industry cross-section – because it will help the 118-year-old group better focus on its more than 5,000 members. "It came out of a strategic decision to refocus our resources on those things most important to our members on a day-to-day basis – regulatory, technical, health and safety and insurance issues," he said.

As part of the deal, the association agreed to sponsor the show for 45 years, a term that participants characterized as typical. Such sponsorships, intended to foster stability, also routinely include revenue-sharing provisions. Other terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed.

The show will be renamed and managed by Rick McConnell, a Hanley Wood senior show director whose team also oversees the company's Intl. Pool & Spa Expo and JLC Live. Hanley Wood will produce both the conference and the trade-show, and will work with the association to develop an educational program. As in the past, the association will continue to hold its annual meeting during the show.

The 2005 show, Hanley Wood's first, will be held Feb. 16-19 at Orlando's Orange County Convention Center. The following year, the rotating show will be held at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

Kathleen Thomas, managing director with Berkery, Noyes & Co., which represented the association, said the deal came together fairly quickly. "When a good one comes to market, there's a lot of interest. There was a lot of interest in this particular show. It went to the best strategic buyer," she said. Participants declined to reveal the other bidders' identities.

Since being acquired by private-equity firm VSS Communication Partners in 1999, Hanley Wood's tradeshow holdings have increased from one to 14. VSS' investment banking arm, Veronis Suhler Stevenson, represented Hanley Wood in the most recent transaction.

Poss said Hanley Wood remains on the lookout for acquisitions. "We constantly are talking to what we consider to be desirable targets," he said. "Regrettably, a lot of them are not for sale."

Beyond further building up Hanley Wood's portfolio, the acquisition indicates that association shows are still selling to for-profits. "More and more associations are recognizing that producing shows is not their core mission," Poss said.

Hanley Wood has purchased several association shows, with generally favorable results. Since the company picked up Surfaces from the World Floor Covering Assn. in 2000, its ranking on the Tradeshow Week 200 list has risen from 45 to 29. The Intl. Pool & Spa Expo ranking has risen from 134 to 102 on the TSW 200 since Hanley Wood bought it from the Natl. Pool & Spa Institute in 2001. And the year after the company bought The Remodelers' Show from the Natl. Assn. of Home Builders, it experienced a 22-percent attendance increase.

"Associations are starting to see that a show can grow faster with a strategic buyer," said Thomas. "The association's job is to promote and build the industry. And a strong show is better for the industry. If you look at all the shows sold to for-profits, for the most part they've been very successful."