Monday, October 1, 2012

ROCKVILLE, October 1, 2012  — Integrated media company Access Intelligence announced today the acquisition of several leading media brands serving the marketing industry, including Chief Marketer, Multichannel Merchant, Direct and PROMO.  These brands, which lead their sectors with strong print, online and event businesses, will expand AI’s growing portfolio of properties serving this key market.  This transaction bolsters the company’s leadership position in delivering high-quality multimedia content to marketing and media professionals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquired assets will become part of Access Intelligence’s Marketing and Media Group, which includes Event Marketer, EXPO, Best Events, Event Design, LeadsCon, DM Confidential, min, Folio:, PR News, Cynopsis and CableFAX. Together, this group represents one of the largest and most robust marketing and media information offerings for business-to-business professionals.

Chief Marketer, www.chiefmarketer.com, provides daily market intelligence on direct marketing, social media, lead generation, mobile and other measurable marketing strategies.  Multichannel Merchant, www.multichannelmerchant.com, covers cross-channel marketing techniques, including catalog, list sales, data mining and ecommerce.  It produces the Operations Summit each spring, focusing on direct-to-customer operations and fulfillment.

“We’re excited to be rounding out our leadership position in advanced marketing with these top-drawer brands and joining their talented team with ours to supercharge our offerings,” said Don Pazour, President & CEO of Access Intelligence.  “With rapid changes in customer buying habits and the exciting opportunities to reach buyers through new channels, Chief Marketer and Multichannel Merchant teaming up with brands such as Event Marketer and LeadsCon is a winning proposition for our audience and for our position as a media company.”

Group publisher Leslie Bacon and her team of 15 employees will be joining Access Intelligence and reporting into Kerry Smith, Senior Vice President of AI.  “Leslie and her team have done a terrific job keeping their marketing media assets focused on the explosive areas of demand gen, lead gen, mobile and social marketing techniques and technologies,” said Smith.

“We are very excited to be joining Access Intelligence to create an even more valuable set of resources for our clients. The combination of Chief Marketer and Multichannel Merchant with the added assets provided by Access Intelligence, such as Event Marketer and LeadsCon is a powerful combination,” said Bacon.

The acquisition marks Access Intelligence’s continued investment in content-rich properties with highly engaged communities. In the past 18 months, Access Intelligence completed acquisitions in the media/marketing and healthcare sectors, including that of LeadsCon, which serves customer acquisition marketers thorough a twice a year trade show and the brands DM Confidential and LeadsCouncil; Red7 Media (which includes Event Marketer and Folio); OR Manager, which presents one of the largest trade shows serving operating room executives; and Cynopsis Media, with advertising-driven e-letters serving the TV and digital communities.

About Access Intelligence

Access Intelligence (www.accessintel.com), a portfolio company of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, is a b-to-b media and information company headquartered in Rockville, Md., serving the media, PR, cable, healthcare management, defense, chemical engineering, satellite and aviation markets. Leading brands include Event Marketer, Folio:, PR News, Contexo Media, CableFAX, Cynopsis, Communications Technology, Media Industry Newsletter; Defense Daily Network, Aviation Today, Cable360 and Studio Daily; Power, Chemical Engineering and Via Satellite magazines. Market-leading shows include Satellite 2012, LeadsCon, OR Manager, LDC Trade Forums, Electric Power, Energy Ocean, Offshore Communications tradeshows. Access Intelligence also produces executive conferences for the healthcare, PR, media, cable, energy and defense markets.

About Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS)

Veronis Suhler Stevenson is a private equity and debt capital fund management company dedicated to investing in the information, education, media, marketing and business services industries in North America and Europe. VSS provides capital for buyouts, recapitalizations, growth financings and strategic acquisitions to companies and management teams with a goal to build companies both organically and through a focused add-on acquisition program. Since the closing of the first VSS Buyout Fund in 1987, VSS has managed four Buyout Funds and two Structured Capital Funds with aggregate committed capital in excess of $3.1 billion. The six funds have to date invested approximately $2.7 billion in 68 portfolio companies which have in turn completed over 320 add-on acquisitions. The company’s website is www.vss.com.