Summit Business Media L.L.C.–owner of Highline Media, which publishes National Underwriter magazine and the NU Online News Service–has signed an agreement to acquire Wicks Business Information, a leading media company serving financial services and legal professionals.
Summit is filing for Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust approval, and it expects to consummate the transaction by the end of June. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
WBI publishes Investment Advisor, Credit Union Times, Inside Counsel and Treasury & Risk magazines, as well as various Web sites, 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 Document Link
The WBI business will join Summit's Highline unit, headed by Andrew L. Goodenough, president of Highline, who led the acquisition of The National Underwriter Company in 2003.
"This acquisition represents a major expansion of our business-to-business 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," says William F. Reilly, chairman and chief executive officer of Summit Business Media.
"These four magazine titles are all number one or number two in strongly defined segments, and their print presence is supported and extended by well-developed custom publishing, online and event properties," Reilly says.
"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," Reilly says.
Goodenough says "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.
