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Exhibit 99.1
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
From Penton Media - Mary Abood,
VP, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
216-931-9551 or [email protected]
PENTON ACQUIRES STREAMING MEDIA, INC., THIRD ACQUISITION COMPLETED IN LAST TWO
WEEKS CONTINUES PENTON'S ACCELERATED PUSH INTO HIGH-GROWTH MARKETS
CLEVELAND -- Oct. 2, 2000 -- Penton Media, Inc. (NYSE:PME) has acquired
Streaming Media, Inc., San Francisco, producer of the Streaming Media East,
Streaming Media West and Streaming Media Europe trade shows, the
streamingmedia.com web site and Streaming Media Magazine. The purchase price was
$65 million, plus contingent consideration of up to $35 million based on the
achievement of specified business targets in 2001.
Thomas L. Kemp, Penton chief executive officer, said Streaming Media's
products will further strengthen Penton's media leadership position in the
Internet/broadband sector. "Our strategy for building Penton includes
identifying the emerging, fast-growing markets in the sectors we serve and
providing these markets with a complete array of media channels. The streaming
media segment is clearly among the fastest growing segments of the Internet and
broadband space. This acquisition is an important addition to our global
Internet World media franchise, which serves e-business professionals, the
wireless Internet market, and the ISP, CLEC, and ASP segments. We expect the
Streaming Media group to be another fast-growth component of Penton's dynamic
portfolio."
Streaming is the technological process for transferring audio and video
content over the Internet so that it is received by an online user in a steady
and continuous "stream." The listener/viewer may receive content upon request
without requiring download, thereby providing almost immediate on-demand access
to all kinds of media. The streaming technology and content markets have grown
rapidly alongside increased usage of the Internet and users' desire to
experience multimedia via the Web.
Streaming Media's Products
Streaming Media produces four trade shows. Its Streaming Media Europe
Conference and Exhibition is next scheduled for Oct. 10-12 at Earls Court Centre
in London. Streaming Media West will take place Dec. 12-14 at the San Jose
McEnery Convention Center. The West Coast event in 2001 will be staged June
20-22 in Long Beach, California. Streaming Media plans to add a Streaming Media
trade show in Hong Kong in May 2001. In addition to exhibits, the Streaming
Media events offer conference tracks in the areas of content, business and
technology. Streamingmedia.com traffic currently exceeds 70,000 user sessions
per week. The site includes daily news, in-depth articles and features,
technology tutorials, discussion lists, an extensive job
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board, content archives, talk shows, video-on-demand conference sessions, and
comprehensive industry directories.
Streaming Media also publishes two e-mail newsletters. The Streaming
Media Newsletter, published weekly, currently reaches over 40,000 subscribers.
The Streaming Media Europe Newsletter, published every two weeks, currently
reaches over 5,500 subscribers focused on the European market.
Streaming Media Magazine is launching in December 2000. The magazine
will build upon the popularity of the Streaming Media trade shows and
streamingmedia.com's content by providing authoritative industry news, research,
analysis and commentary in a monthly print publication.
Penton is merging the Streaming Media business into its Technology
Media Division, keeping current operations and management in place. "We see a
number of productive synergies for the Streaming Media group with our Internet
World and Stardust.com teams," noted David B. Nussbaum, president of the
division. "We're tremendously excited about leveraging our collective expertise,
market relationships and the power of our media brands to continue to build
Penton's leading position in the worldwide Internet media arena."
Richard Bowsher, president & CEO, Streaming Media, said, "There is
incredible synergy to be harnessed between Penton and Streaming Media; we share
a common vision of how diversified media companies should be developed to best
serve rapidly growing technology markets. We're looking forward to
turbo-charging our leading industry position with Penton's wealth of experience,
leading Internet/media industry resources and global infrastructure."
Penton's Strategic Acquisitions in Recent Weeks
The purchase of Streaming Media is Penton's third strategic acquisition
in recent weeks. Other transactions included:
-- The purchase of 100% of the stock of Duke Communications International, for
$100 million, and a contingent payment of up to $50.0 million. Duke
publishes six magazines and associated Web sites and e-mail newsletters for
information technology and finance professionals. Its flagship titles
include Windows 2000 Magazine, and NEWS/400 and Business Finance magazines.
The acquisition provides Penton with a leadership position in the
information technology sector.
-- The asset purchase of trade shows produced by Professional Trade Shows,
Inc. (PTS), for $17.0 million. PTS' 50 regional trade shows serve the plant
engineering and maintenance, material handling, buildings and facilities
maintenance, design engineering, and machine tool industries. The
acquisition strengthens Penton's current market position as a leading
publisher in these industries.
The three new Penton businesses are expected to add approximately $25.0
million to Penton's fourth quarter 2000 revenues. Approximately 50% of the
revenues will be generated from trade shows, 40% from publishing, and 10% from
online media products, including sources such as Web site advertising and
sponsorships and e-mail newsletter sponsorships. Each of the
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acquisitions is accretive to after tax cash flow per share.
About Penton Media
Penton Media is a leading diversified business media company that
produces market-focused magazines, Web sites, trade shows, and conferences.
Penton's integrated media portfolio serves the following market sectors:
Internet/broadband; information technology; electronics; natural
products/food/retail; manufacturing; design/engineering; management; supply
chain/aviation; government/compliance; mechanical systems/construction; and
leisure/hospitality. The Company had revenues of $300.8 million in 1999.
Statements in this document that are not historical in nature are
forward-looking statements. Although Penton believes that its expectations are
based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its
business, there can be no assurance that the Company's financial goals will be
realized. Numerous factors may affect the Company's actual results and may cause
results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements
made by or on behalf of the Company. Certain of such factors are detailed in
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other factors
include, without limitation, the receptivity of the Company's Internet
businesses by its customers and the ability of the Company to execute its
Internet strategy.
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