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This Just In

Northstar Travel Media Sold to Private Equity Group

HIL ANDERSON, SENIOR EDITOR

Secaucus, NJ – Northstar Travel Media, LLC has been sold in a transaction between two private equity firms, it was announced July 9. The Wicks Group of Companies, LLC acquired Northstar from BV Investment Partners, which purchased Northstar in 2001 from Reed Elsevier.

Northstar, which had been known as the Cahners Travel Group in the 1990s, publishes several meeting and travel titles, including Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings and Travel Weekly.  It also has a portfolio of 20 face-to-face events and owns the research and event organizing firm PhoCusWright, Inc.  The events roster includes PhoCusWright Conference, CruiseWorld and M&C InterAct.

“We plan to continue to expand our face-to-face event portfolio,” said Thomas Kemp, chairman and CEO of Northstar. “They [events] have gone from 2% of our business to 20% in the past three years.”

Kemp said the new ownership would provide the company with capital and investment skills. “Wicks possesses many of the same qualities as BV with their depth of experience investing in media and information industries,” he said.

“We are very impressed with the growth of Northstar Travel Media over the last few years during challenging economic conditions,” said Dan Kortick, a managing partner at Wicks. “The management team has done an excellent job of migrating its core business to an integrated information and marketing solutions company.”  Kortick said future growth would come from product development and strategic acquisitions.

Kemp and the rest of the Northstar management team are expected to remain with the company. Kemp joined Northstar as chairman and CEO in 2009.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. represented Northstar in the negotiations.

Reach Tom Kemp at (201) 902-2070 or tkemp@ntmllc.com

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