NEW YORK, June 8, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Summit Business Media, LLC, a leading media company serving the business-to-business market, today announced it signed an agreement to acquire Wicks Business Information (WBI), a leading media company serving financial services and legal professionals in North America. Summit is filing for Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust approval, and expects to consummate the transaction by the end of June. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
WBI, a portfolio company of the Wicks Group of Companies, publishes Investment Advisor, Credit Union Times, Inside Counsel and Treasury & Risk magazines as well as websites, custom publishing projects and an array of live events. Its Executive Enterprises seminar unit produces more than 100 courses each year, serving the specialized continuing education and training needs of accountants, lawyers and tax professionals. A summary of WBI's products can be found at www.wbi.com.
"This acquisition represents a major expansion of our B2B media franchise in financial services, including investment advisory and credit unions, as well as corporate treasury and legal functions, and complements our existing strong presence in insurance markets through our Highline Media and SB Media operating units," said William F. Reilly, Chairman and CEO of Summit Business Media. "These four magazine titles are all #1 or #2 in strongly defined segments, and their print presence is supported and extended by well-developed custom publishing, online and event properties. The addition of the EEI Conferences business also gives Summit a new channel to address the continuing education needs of managers in corporate accounting and reporting, taxation, banking, lending, finance and law."
The WBI business will join Summit's Highline unit, led by Andrew L. Goodenough, President of Highline. Goodenough said, "We are delighted to have John Whelan, the Vice President and Group Publisher of WBI, join our cadre of experienced publishing executives. He and the WBI team of editors, publishers, advertising sales executives, event organizers and others -- more than 70 employees in total -- will give a strong boost to our focus in financial services, as well as expansion into new fields which fit our professional services market definition."
Whelan will report to Thomas A. Fowler, Executive Vice President of Highline's Magazine Division, while the EEI and events businesses will report to James M. Keefe, Senior Vice President of Highline's Conference Division.
Douglas J. Manoni, WBI's CEO, will be leaving the company after a transition period. Manoni said, "We are very proud of all that we have created and accomplished at WBI over the past seven years. Our employees are an extremely talented group of publishing professionals and I am confident that they will continue to thrive under Summit's leadership. It's also exciting and gratifying that our product portfolio is so well aligned with Summit's strategy and existing assets, such that both businesses will achieve significant benefits as a result of this transaction."
Reilly added, "This is an important step in our strategic goal of becoming a major business information company. This is Summit's third major acquisition since our formation in November, and we will continue to support our operating units with opportunistic acquisitions as well as investments in organic growth."
About Summit Business Media
Summit Business Media was formed through a partnership between William F. Reilly, former CEO of PRIMEDIA, and Wind Point Partners in an acquisition of Highline Media and Pfingsten Publishing in November 2006. Summit Business Media serves the insurance community with venerable assets such as Highline's National Underwriter Property/Casualty and Life/Health weeklies and SB Media's Life Insurance Selling and American Agent & Broker. Summit Business Media serves the financial services and insurance industries via magazines like Wealth Manager, Research and Futures magazines, reference tools like TaxFacts and Fire, Casualty and Surety Bulletins, and 150 other books, electronic products and conference events. It is also the leading data provider of financial and market information on insurance companies as well as the premier information source to the retail mortgage market via Mortgage Originator magazine. Additional information about Summit Business Media is available at www.summitbusinessmedia.com. Additional information about Highline Media and SB Media, LLC is available at www.highlinemedia.com and www.sbmediallc.com.
For More Information on Highline Media, contact Andy Goodenough at (212) 752 2710 x1805 For More Information on Wicks Business Information contact Doug Manoni at (203) 334 2002 x18