M&A Deal Summary

UBM Acquires Advanstar Communications

On October 1, 2014, UBM acquired media company Advanstar Communications from VSS Capital Partners for 972M USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is UBM’s 3rd transaction in the Media sector.
  • This is UBM’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is UBM’s 5th transaction in the United States.
  • This is UBM’s 2nd transaction in California.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2014-10-01
Target Advanstar Communications
Sector Media
Buyer(s) UBM
Sellers(s) VSS Capital Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Deal Value 972M USD
Advisor(s) Goldman Sachs
Moelis & Co.
J.P. Morgan Securities (Financial)
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Slaughter and May (Legal)

Target

Advanstar Communications

Santa Monica, California, United States
Advanstar Communications Inc. is a media company providing integrated marketing solutions for the Fashion, Life Sciences and Powersports industries. Advanstar serves business professionals and consumers in these industries with its portfolio of 87 events, 58 publications and directories, 125 electronic publications and Web sites, as well as educational and direct marketing products and services.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

UBM

London, United Kingdom

Category Company
Founded 1918
Sector Business Services
Employees5,000
Revenue 770M GBP (2015)
DESCRIPTION

UBM is a global events-led marketing service and communications company helping businesses do business by bringing the world’s buyers and sellers together at events, online and in print. UBM was formed in 1918 and is based in London.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 12 of 19
Sector (Media) 3 of 8
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 10 of 13
State (California) 2 of 2
Country (United States) 5 of 7
Year (2014) 2 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 12
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2014-07-31 Seatrade Communications

Colchester,

Seatrade is recognized as a brand leader in the global business to business maritime industries. The company’s Cruise sector events include Seatrade Latin America Cruise Convention and Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum, supported by Seatrade Cruise Review and the online portal Seatrade Insider. General Maritime events include Sea Asia in Singapore and Seatrade Middle East Maritime in Dubai, supported by the online Seatrade Global portal and Seatrade Magazine. In the Offshore Marine space it organises Seatrade Offshore Marine and Workboats Middle East in Abu Dhabi.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-07-01 eMedia Asia

Bridgetown, Barbados

eMedia Asia Ltd. is a provider of multichannel media network services.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

VSS Capital Partners

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1981
PE ASSETS 4.0B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

VSS Capital Partners is a private equity firm that targets investments in the media, communications, education, and information services sectors. VSS looks for opportunities with valuable brand franchises, stable cash flows, and infrastructure to support add-ons. The Firm will consider businesses throughout North America and Europe valued between $50 and $750 million. Prospective investment situations include management buyouts/buy-ins, expansion or acquisition financings, recapitalizations, build-ups, going private transactions, and partnerships. VSS was formed in 1981 and is based in New York City.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 35 of 56
Sector (Media) 10 of 11
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 11 of 22
State (California) 3 of 5
Country (United States) 26 of 43
Year (2014) 2 of 3
Size (of disclosed) 2 of 10
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2014-06-26 CSC Media Group

London, United Kingdom

CSC Media Group is one of the fastest growing media companies in the UK. Founded by the producers of the ground-breaking music programme The Chart Show, which ran on ITV and Channel 4 for twelve years. CSC now owns and operates sixteen television channels in the UK on Sky Digital, Virgin Media and Freesat as well as six complementary websites. CSC has started to roll-out its channels internationally with distribution in ROI and Sub-Saharan Africa with other territories in the pipeline.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2014-10-13 TranZact

Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States

TranZact specializes in addressing consumers' insurance needs through our comprehensive direct-to-consumer marketing, sales, servicing, and technology capabilities. TranZact was founded in 1997 and is based in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Sell $280M