Access Intelligence Acquires Red7 Media

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Integrated media company Access Intelligence announced today the acquisition of Red7 Media, establishing a division serving professionals in the media and event management industries. This world-class division will serve those industries through conferences, consulting, magazines, newsletters and robust online communities under the market-leading brands Event Marketer, Best Events, EXPO, Folio and Media Industry Newsletter (min). Together with the company's positions in cable television programming, public relations, and digital graphics, this transaction, representing about a third of the company's revenue, makes Access Intelligence a major voice in media communications.

“Having known Don for several years through our work together on the board of SISO as well as via our common relationship with VSS, I couldn’t think of a leader or company that would be a better fit for our brands, our vision, and our employees.”

The acquisition marks Access Intelligence's continued investment in high-performing properties with engaged audiences and best-in-class products and services, and positions one of its flagship brands, Media Industry Newsletter (min), to expand its reach through Red7's Folio offerings.

Red7 Media is the world's largest producer of content and community for the event industry via Event Marketer, EXPO, Best Events and Event Design magazines; as well as the Event Marketing Institute, several industry conferences, and numerous websites. It also publishes FOLIO and Audience Development magazines, hosts the Folio Show and recently launched a research and consulting practice to provide business intelligence to its customers.

Access Intelligence's new Media and Event Marketing Group will be led by Kerry Smith and his senior management team. Kerry founded Red7 Media in 2002 and grew the Norwalk, CT-based company into a market leader attracting more than 7,000 executives and 500 sponsors to its events and more than 800,000 unique visitors to its web sites. Kerry will continue in his role as President of the expanded Red7 Media Group and become a Senior Vice President of Access Intelligence.

"The ability to round out our leading position in the consumer magazine market with Red7's events, online communities and a leading magazine while expanding into the dynamic Events business is a truly exciting prospect for Access Intelligence, our employees and customers," said Don Pazour, president and CEO of Access Intelligence. "I am particularly pleased to have a media executive of Kerry's stature join our management team."

“Don’s team and ours share a vision for creating high-value business resources around market-leading brands. Integrating Red7 Media into Access Intelligence will provide Red7 with deep resources and capabilities that will enable us to accelerate our growth strategies and better serve our customers and employees,” said Smith. “Having known Don for several years through our work together on the board of SISO as well as via our common relationship with VSS, I couldn’t think of a leader or company that would be a better fit for our brands, our vision, and our employees.”

Red7 joins Access Intelligence's growing Media Communications group, under the leadership of Heather Farley, Executive Vice President. "The expanded Red7 Division will also work in close cooperation with our PR News, Studio, and CableFax Daily brands, led by Senior Vice President Diane Schwartz, to cross-market and to develop new product," said Farley. She also noted that the company will likely be closing other acquisitions in this sector in the coming months.

"Our collective excitement is leveraging the deep market knowledge and industry relationships from our combined media and communications assets to become the dominant information and services provider in these markets," noted Farley.

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 Contexo Media, CableFAX, Communications Technology, PR News, Media Industry Newsletter; Defense Daily Network, AviationToday, Cable360 and Studio Daily; Power, Chemical Engineering and Via Satellite magazines. Market-leading shows include Satellite 2011, 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 Red7 Media

Red7 Media (www.red7media.com) publishes business magazines and produces executive conferences and trade shows in the event and media industries. Among the company's market-leading brands are (in the event industry) Event Marketer, Event Design, Best Events, and EXPO magazines, as well as the Event Marketing Summit, Best Event Expos and Event Design Summit conferences. Red7 also runs the Event Marketing Institute and the Exhibit Designers & Producers Association. In the media industry, the company's leading brands are FOLIO Magazine and Audience Development, as well as the FOLIO Show, Folio Growth Summit, and the Audience Development Show. Its FOLIO Media Management Institute is a membership-based resource for business intelligence for media executives.

About Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS)

VSS (www.vss.com) is a private equity and mezzanine capital fund management company dedicated to investing in the information, education, media, communications 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. To date, VSS equity and mezzanine funds have invested in 67 platform companies, which have in turn completed over 300 add-on acquisitions resulting in a portfolio with realized and unrealized enterprise values totaling over $14 billion.