M&A Deal Summary

UBM Acquires Commonwealth Business Media

On July 5, 2006, UBM acquired information services company Commonwealth Business Media from Bariston Partners, RFE Investment Partners and ABRY Partners for 152M USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is UBM’s 1st transaction in the Information Services sector.
  • This is UBM’s 4th largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is UBM’s 2nd transaction in the United States.
  • This is UBM’s 1st transaction in New Jersey.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2006-07-05
Target Commonwealth Business Media
Sector Information Services
Buyer(s) UBM
Sellers(s) Bariston Partners
RFE Investment Partners
ABRY Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Deal Value 152M USD

Target

Commonwealth Business Media

East Windsor, New Jersey, United States
Commonwealth Business Media, Inc. (CBM) is a provider of dedicated information products and services, including customized and proprietary data, magazines, directories, references, newsletters, and online services, to the international trade and transportation industry of North America. CBM, based in East Windsor, New Jersey, was formed by BP to acquire, from PRIMEDIA, Inc., the assets of the PRIMEDIA Directories Group.

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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 7 of 19
Sector (Information Services) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 5 of 13
State (New Jersey) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 2 of 7
Year (2006) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 4 of 12
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2005-05-13 Barbour ABI

Cheshire Oaks, United Kingdom

ABI is a provider of construction sales and marketing information services serving the UK construction sector with sales leads, contact data, CRM software and marketing intelligence aimed primarily at construction contractors and material suppliers.

Buy £12M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-12-31 HispaniMark

Miami, Florida, United States

HispaniMark LLC is a provider of news distribution and related services for PR agencies and communication professionals.

Buy -

Seller(S) 3

SELLER

Bariston Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1997
Size Small
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Bariston Partners LLC is a private investment group firm targets middle-market company buyouts alongside management teams. The Firm looks for opportunities valued between $20 and $100 million. Bariston seeks businesses where the firm has industry-specific expertise, and will assist management in improving business operations post acquisition. The Firm typically avoids companies with a high-level of technology risk. Bariston Partners was formed in 1997 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 4 of 6
Sector (Information Services) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 2
State (New Jersey) 1 of 2
Country (United States) 4 of 6
Year (2006) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2005-12-01 Moose River Media

St. Johnsbury, Vermont, United States

Moose River Media LLC is a publisher of six controlled circulation magazines servicing the turfgrass, landscaping and agricultural industries. The largest publication is Turf Magazine, a monthly publication with a circulation of 65,000. Moose River Media LLC was founded in 1987 and is based in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-04-01 Health Watch Holdings

Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States

Health Watch Holdings, Inc., (Health Watch), based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is the second largest provider of personal response systems (“PRS”) and monitoring services in the United States. The PRS industry serves the needs of medically at-risk elders and disabled individuals who wish to remain in their own homes.

Sell $130M
SELLER

RFE Investment Partners

Westport, Connecticut, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1979
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on investing in lower middle-market service, manufacturing and healthcare service businesses. Prospective companies are generally profitable with annual cash-flow of at least $5 million. Target businesses also have proven management, defensible market positions, and 'a clearly identified and growing market'. RFE looks to commit $10 to $35 million of equity capital per transaction to support acquisitions, management led buyouts, and recapitalizations. RFE is licensed as a SBIC and was formed in 1979. RFE Investment Partners is based in New Canaan, Connecticut.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 2 of 14
Sector (Information Services) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 5
State (New Jersey) 1 of 2
Country (United States) 2 of 14
Year (2006) 1 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 2 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2005-12-21 KAG

North Canton, Ohio, United States

KAG provides transportation and logistics services to the fuel, chemical, liquid food and merchant gas sectors in the U.S. and Canada. KAG was founded in 1997 and is based in North Canton, Ohio.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2006-08-01 McKenzie Taxidermy Supply

Granite Quarry, North Carolina, United States

McKenzie Taxidermy Supply is a manufacturer, sculptor, designer, and catalog retailer of taxidermy forms and supplies. McKenzie Taxidermy Supply was formed in 1973 and is based in Granite Quarry, North Carolina.

Sell -
SELLER

ABRY Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1989
PE ASSETS 12.8B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION

ABRY Partners is a media and communications focused private equity investment firm. Specific areas of interest include television, publishing, convention/trade shows, for-profit training, couponing, monitoring services, telephone companies, communications towers, music libraries, database providers, wireless communications, and in-store advertisers. ABRY can provide both equity and mezzanine capital, typically committing $20 to $200 million of equity or $15 to $50 million of mezzanine capital per transaction. Prospective transaction situations include buyouts, expansion financings, platform acquisitions, consolidations, and recapitalizations. ABRY Partners was formed in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 7 of 100
Sector (Information Services) 1 of 5
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 3 of 52
State (New Jersey) 2 of 9
Country (United States) 7 of 87
Year (2006) 2 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 26 of 29
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2006-05-10 Source Medical Solutions

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Source Medical Solutions, Inc. (SourceMedical) is a provider of outpatient information solutions and revenue cycle management services for rehabilitation clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and specialty hospitals nationwide. SourceMed is based in Birmingham, Alabama.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2006-08-17 Triple Point Technology

Westport, Connecticut, United States

Triple Point Technology is a global provider of cloud and on-premise Commodity Management software that delivers advanced analytics for optimizing end-to-end commodity and energy value chains.

Buy -
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