United Business Media Adds to Holdings
By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 8/29/2005
London-based United Business Media has acquired an association tradeshow serving the chemical manufacturing industry, and a newsletter and event producer covering the communications networking sector.
UBM subsidiary CMP Information purchased INFORMEX for $24 million. Owned by the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Assn., the 20-year-old event in January drew 4,100 attendees and 478 exhibitors to the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas. The show is next set for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans Feb. 21–24.
SOCMA President Joseph Acker said INFORMEX's recent growth was making it difficult to manage. "We're not professional tradeshow managers. We were at a crossroads," he said. "We would have had to do a significant reorganization or look at the possibility of trying to sell it and remain active in it."
SOCMA had received and rejected previous suitors' offers over the years. Under the agreement with CMP Information, SOCMA will continue to sponsor INFORMEX, as well as any international chemical shows that CMP Information might launch. SOCMA members will be entitled to discounts and space-booking priority. The show steering committee will be composed entirely of SOCMA members.
The acquisition will help extend the market reach of the U.K.-based CMP Information, which covers 20 sectors with 40 magazines and three dozen events. Among them are three CPhl chemical and pharmaceutical ingredients exhibitions in China, Japan and Spain. The largest draws 20,000 attendees and more than 1,500 exhibitors.
"These folks understand the chemical business, because they have chemical tradeshows. They were also very sensitive about SOCMA's needs. This is going to be a real, true partnership going forward," Acker said.
In a separate deal, CMP Media, a Manhasset, N.Y., UBM subsidiary that produces 100 Web sites, 43 magazines and 24 technology events, bought the 4-year-old Light Reading for $27 million to expand its reach into the telecom networking sector. Light Reading is comprised of five online publications, a webinar series and 19 annual events. Its largest event, Ethernet Expo, last drew about 1,000 attendees and 42 sponsors. It is next scheduled for the Grand Hyatt New York Oct. 12–14.
Light Reading, which generates $10 million in annual revenue and $2.6 million in operating cash flow, also produces broadband television, research and advisory services, online directories and white papers.
The company's co-founder, Stephen Saunders, will stay on as a senior vice president in CMP Media's newly formed communications group. Saunders will report to Steve Weitzner, a CMP executive vice president and COO. In addition, Light Reading's 50 employees will become part of CMP Media.
Jordan Edmiston Group Inc. represented both sellers. Managing Director Richard Mead said strategic buyers expressed strong interest in the two properties. INFORMEX was a particularly good fit for UBM, he said, because it complemented the company's chemical exhibitions.
"They have a very strong tradeshow presence in the chemical sector. It was a natural fit for them. It was also a natural fit for a number of other strategic buyers," he said.
Mead said CMP Media was attracted by Light Reading's rapid growth. "It's a very interesting business, a very creative business. It could be the model for the way a number of traditional publishers will operate in the future."
He added that the properties weren't large enough to draw interest from financial players. Earlier this month, JEGI represented Jupitermedia in its sale of the Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo series to London-based Incisive Media.
