Penton Acquires Aviation Week Group from McGraw Hill Financial

July 24, 2013

Penton Media made a bold move to beef up its existing aviation portfolio by acquiring the Aviation Week Group from McGraw Hill Financial.

The Aviation Week Group buy includes events, data, digital and media products. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Some of the newly required events are Aviation Week’s MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) series, Aerospace & Defense Programs (ADP), Defense Technology & Affordability Requirements (DTAR), Civil Aviation Manufacturing (CAM), and NextGen Ahead: Air Transportation Modernization Conference.

“Aviation Week is the clear leader in global aviation information with exceptional assets including: a growing maintenance/repair/overhaul (MRO) event platform with shows in North America, Europe and Asia; the leading digital information service in The Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN); and, the most respected content engine in the industry,” said David Kieselstein, CEO of Penton

He added, “We see a huge opportunity to unlock additional growth by overlaying Penton’s formula of centralized centers of excellence in marketing services, digital community, insights and data product development to spur further growth.”

Gregory Hamilton, president of Aviation Week, will continue to lead the brand with his team and report to Warren N. Bimblick, senior vice president, strategy and business development for Penton.

“Aviation Week is a premier franchise in the civil and defense aerospace industry, with an excellent team, andwe appreciate their contributions to McGraw Hill Financial,” said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and CEO of McGraw Hill Financial.

He added, “We respect the team at Penton and understand that their strategic plans for growth and their established presence in the aviation sector make their company an excellent home for this business.”

Penton’s Aviation Group already comprised of products such as the Aircraft Bluebook, The Air Charter Guide, Airportdata.com, Air Transport World and SpeedNews, to name a few.

According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ U.S. Aerospace and Defense 2012 Year in Review and 2013 Forecast, 2012 was a record year for the revenues and profits.

And good news for Penton is that growth is expected to continue at a rate of 5 percent during the next five years.

Long-term forecast for commer­cial OEM aircraft on a global basis is about 34,000 deliveries valued at approximately $4.5 tril­lion during the next 20 years.

This acquisition is the second one for Penton in the past year. In November, the company purchased the Farm Progress portfolio from Fairfax Media Limited of Sydney, Australia, for $79.9 million. This buy significantly expanded Penton’s agricultural portfolio.

Penton is a privately held company owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP.

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