M & A Activity Update

OCT. 2: Torrance, Calif.-based Bobit Business Media buys World of Special Finance assets from a family-owned company by the same name in Michigan. The assets include the World of Special Finance Conference & Expo, as well as a monthly publication and some Web sites. According to Bobit, the acquisition is meant to bolster its strength in the automotive market.

OCT. 3: Reed Exhibitions Middle East scoops up six shows from Trans Continental Fairs Management in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Doha, Qatar. The shows include the Abu Dhabi Intl. Motor Show, Abu Dhabi Intl. Jewellry and Watch Show, Middle East Aluminum Exhibition in Dubai, Middle East Pool Exhibition & Conference, Qatar Water and Electricity Technology Exhibition & Conference in Doha and the Gulf Road Technology Exhibition & Conference in Doha.

OCT. 8: 1105 Media snags three more shows for its rapidly expanding government information portfolio, buying GovSec, U.S. Law and Ready! Conference & Exhibition from Natl. Trade Productions. They join other recognized brands in 1105 Media's Government Information Group, such as FOSE, Federal Computer Week and Washington Technology.

OCT. 9: Canon Communications extends its reach beyond U.S. borders by acquiring two German manufacturing shows: Interpart, a show for manufacturers and subcontractors in the automotive, electronics, medical and machine construction industries; and Surfacts, which serves European companies providing mechanical, chemical or thermal surface treatment, finishing technology, galvanizing technology or vacuum coating for a wide range of industries. The shows are collocated at Messe Karlsruhe.

OCT. 10: CMP Information, United Business Media's U.K.-based business information division, buys Energy Events U.K., owners of the Energy Solutions Expo. The show focuses on the commercial energy supply and management sector.

OCT. 11: Smart City locks up even more of the telecom market by acquiring Convention Communications Provisions Inc. CCPI, located in Issaquah, Wash., provides technical consulting services to convention centers (including the Kentucky Exposition Center and the Oregon Convention Center), meeting facilities and hotels. CCPI continues to operate as a stand-alone company under its existing name.

OCT. 11: In order to broaden its client base in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas, Shephard Exposition Services buys Baltimore-based U-Neek Exposition Services. U-Neek takes on the Shephard name while maintaining its staff, which continues to serve existing customers.

OCT. 13: Jaarbeurs (Holding) BV reaches an agreement with The Nielsen Company to acquire Nielsen's 50-percent share of VNU Exhibitions Europe. In doing so, Jaarbeurs becomes the full owner of the company, which organizes 60 national and international tradeshows annually.

OCT. 25: Diversified Business Communications Canada buys the World Conference on Disaster Management from the Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness. CCEP will continue to organize the educational conference portion of the event. The next WCDM is scheduled June 1-18 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

OCT. 29: Expomedia continues to grow its portfolio by purchasing a series of German consumer parenting exhibitions, Babywelt, from Messewelten, a subsidiary of Messe Berlin. Expomedia and Gruner + Jahr will jointly organize the events in German cities such as Hamburg, Essen, Cologne, Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart.

NOV. 6: Naylor, an event organizer for associations, buys the Southern Building Show, a regional event for home builders and others connected to the construction market. The show takes place annually in Atlanta and involves the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Assn. and the Home Builders Assn. of Georgia. The next event is scheduled June 11-13 at the Cobb Galleria Centre.

NOV. 6: StarCite, a meetings management company, merges its hotel and destination management company supplier portfolios, as well as their sales and marketing efforts, with DMI, a collection of more than 130 hotels, convention and visitors bureaus and destination management companies.

NOV. 9: GES Exposition Services acquires Ethnometrics, a consulting company focused on the retail and exhibition industries. Ethnometrics provides exhibitors, show organizers and retailers a data-driven approach to improving return on investment. The company analyzes attendee behavior and interaction with exhibits and booth staff in order to increase exhibitors' sales effectiveness.

NOV. 12: Tarsus Group purchases the WR Kern Organization, the U.K.-based holding company of Fairs & Exhibitions. F&E was founded in 1958 and since 1976 has focused on the Middle East with eight events in Dubai, U.A.E. These include the Dubai Airshow (now Tarsus Group's largest show), Gulf Print, Gulf Pack, Label Tech and Gulf Education Supplies.

NOV. 29: Gaylord Entertainment diverges from its core strategy of building hotel-convention centers from the ground up and acquires one, the Westin La Cantera resort in San Antonio, for $252.5 million. The resort property includes 508 rooms and 39,000 square feet of meeting space but, Gaylord says it plans to add 1,000 more rooms and 160,000 more sq. ft. by 2011.

DEC. 19: New York City-based fashion tradeshow organizer ENK Intl. buys Encino, Calif.-based WSA Global Holdings, owner of The WSA Show for the shoes and accessories business. ENK Intl. produces 22 shows annually. The WSA Show, ranked No. 4 and 6 on the 2007 TSW 200, will be its biggest by far.

DEC. 21: The United Kingdom's Guardian Media Group and New York-based private equity group Apax Partners purchases the business-to-business publishing unit of Emap. The deal, valued at $2.4 billion, falls into place just weeks after Emap has sold its consumer magazines and radio units to German group Heinrich Bauer Verlag for $2.28 billion. Some of the shows included in the B-to-B sale are Interbuild, the World Retail Congress and the Education Show.