New York, NY, June 20--An investment group led by JPMorgan Partners, a private equity affiliate of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., announced last month that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Hanley Wood, the owner of the Las Vegas-based floor covering trade show Surfaces, from Veronis Suhler Stevenson.
The parties expect, when all accounts are settled, the deal will represent the second largest business-to-business media transaction in the U.S., trailing only the sale of Advanstar in 2000. The investment group also includes Wasserstein & Co., and current and former Hanley Wood management.
Hanley Wood, based in Washington, D.C., is one of the ten largest business-to-business media companies in the U.S. with five operating divisions. Hanley Wood Magazines publishes 22 trade titles, including Builder and Remodeling; Hanley Wood e-Media operates a profitable collection of 17 Web sites, including Builder Online, Remodeling Online, and ebuild, a comprehensive online guide to building products; Hanley Wood Exhibitions (based in Dallas) produces 15 premier construction industry events, four of which are among North America's 200 largest, including World of Concrete, a top 20 trade show; Hanley Wood Marketing (based in Minneapolis) offers a full range of marketing services solutions to corporate clients in construction and other business markets; and Hanley Wood Market Intelligence (based in Costa Mesa, CA), which tracks and sells key housing activity data on residential real estate development and new-home construction in most of the top 20 markets to the housing industry.
"This is one of the great b-to-b media franchises in the U.S.," said Mike Hannon, a Partner at J.P. Morgan Partners. "We are excited to work with the management team to accomplish the next phase of the company's growth."
"Hanley Wood is an excellent company that has established itself as a premier business media company," said Jeffrey Stevenson, managing partner of Veronis Suhler Stevenson. "Under our ownership, Mike Wood and his talented management team have been able to more than double the company revenues and triple EBITDA through new product launches and 13 add-on acquisitions."
Company founder Michael Wood will step down as CEO, but will remain a board member. Current president Frank Anton will become CEO of the organization and all five division heads will continue in their roles.
"Our goal is to continue the dramatic growth that Hanley Wood has achieved during our partnership with Veronis Suhler Stevenson," Anton said. "We have a five-year plan in place, called HWX (Hanley Wood Accelerates), to double our existing businesses, and we expect to remain an active acquirer of construction industry magazines, trade shows and data businesses."
The sale of Hanley Wood marks the sixth recent transaction for Veronis Suhler Stevenson, following on the heels of the sales of YBR Group, Canon Communications and the purchases of Facts On File, KEDJ-FM and Southern Theatres.
Wasserstein & Co. will also serve on the company's board of directors.
DeSilva & Phillips, Credit Suisse First Boston and O'Melveny & Myers LLP advised JPMorgan Partners. Veronis Suhler Stevenson and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison LLP acted as advisors to Hanley Wood.
