WaPo, Reed and dmg Sell Shows

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 12/18/2006

This holiday season, shows were bought and sold so frequently, it's as if they were Kmart blue-light specials.

The most substantial deal surfaced Dec. 8 when 1105 Media announced it would acquire PostNewsweek Tech Media, the Washington Post Co.'s government publishing and events group, which includes FOSE (No. 158 on the 2006 Tradeshow Week 200), four publications and online products. The firms did not disclose terms of the transaction.

Meanwhile, a few expected sales came through for Reed Elsevier, parent firm of Reed Exhibitions and Reed Business Information (which owns TSW), and dmg world media.

Based in Chatsworth, Calif., 1105 Media currently operates the Federal Computer Week and Government Health IT brands, which include several shows catering to government technology. They include Enterprise Architecture Conference & Exhibition, Knowledge Management Conference & Exhibition, Security: Homeland, IA, Cyber Conference & Exhibition, Web-Enabled Government Conference & Exhibition, Wireless/RFID (radio frequency identification) Conference & Exhibition and Government Health IT Conference & Exhibition.

Nautic Partners, Alta Communications and Neal Vitale (1105's current president and CEO, and a former Reed Elsevier executive) formed 1105 Media in April to acquire 101communications and Stevens Publishing. 1105 also produces several publications, online products, summits and seminars.

The combination of PostNewsweek and 1105's government products will be renamed the 1105 Government Information Group, and will be led by Anne Armstrong, publisher of 1105's FCW Media Group. The new group claims the largest combined reach into the complex government marketplace, with more than 240,000 government subscribers and government channel decision-makers, according to the Washington Post Co.

Vitale said, in a statement, "Although 1105 Media is a new company, we have deep roots in the government community through our publication Federal Computer Week and its associated online products and vertical conferences."

With this sale, the Washington Post Co. exits the tradeshow- and event-management arena, Ann McDaniel, the company's vice president, confirmed.

"We don't have imminent plans" for other events, she said.

McDaniel added, of PostNewsweek, "We concluded over the last couple of years that the best way to let these products grow was to merge them with other government technology products. ... We looked at buying 101communications ourselves."

FOSE takes place annually at the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center.

Reed sold its Canadian manufacturing and industrial show portfolio to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and Vance Publishing. Plant Maintenance & Design Engineering, Western Manufacturing Technology Show, Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show, Advanced Manufacturing Expo, Montreal Manufacturing Technology, Southwest Ontario Industrial Show and Canadian Manufacturing Week went to SME. Woodworking Machinery & Supply Expo and SIBO went to Vance.

The sale was the final step in Reed's strategic alignment of its exhibition operations in North America, the company reported. In May, Canon Communications purchased its U.S. manufacturing and industrial portfolio.

Dmg sold another home and garden show that was on the block, the Minneapolis Fall Home & Garden Show, to Greenspring Media Group.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group Inc. represented Reed Elsevier in its transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor; Corporate Solutions represented dmg in its deal.