Deals

VSS-led group buys Advanstar

A consortium led by Veronis Suhler Stevenson has bought US publishing business Advanstar from DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, for $1.1 billion.

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A private equity consortium has bought US publisher Advanstar Holdings from DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, in a $1.1 billion (€0.8 billion) secondary deal.

The consortium is led by Veronis Suhler Stevenson, and also includes Citigroup Private Equity and New York Life Capital Partners.

Advanstar: into powersports

Advanstar, which has roughly 1,000 employees in the US and Europe, produces marketing publications for the fashion & licensing, life sciences, and powersports industries. VSS is thought to be particularly interested in its events business.

Scott Troeller, partner at VSS, said: “Advanstar is truly one of the premier business media companies in the world. They possess a well-diversified portfolio of tradeshows, publications, directories and websites which are focused market leaders in key B2B media end-markets.”

VSS has made numerous acquisitions across the media sector, including Berliner Verlag, a German regional newspaper publisher, Infobase publishing and Riviera Broadcast Group.

Kamil Salame, managing director at DLJ and lead partner on the Advanstar investment, said: “Advanstar is another example of the success that DLJ Merchant Banking Partners has experienced in the media sector. We partnered with a strong management team to refocus the company on expansion and growth.”

DLJ originally bought Advanstar for $900 million (€675 million) in August 2000. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.