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Apprise Media Acquires CFW Enterprises, Leading Publisher of Action Sports Magazines
Names Craig Nickerson CEO of Action Pursuit Group
New York, NY (August 17, 2005) – Apprise Media LLC, a strategic management and investment company focused on niche media, today announced that it has acquired CFW Enterprises, Inc., a leading publisher of paintball and martial arts enthusiast publications. CFW becomes the Action Pursuit Group (APG) of Apprise Enthusiast Media LLC, Apprise's platform in the enthusiast media sector whose other properties include Beckett Media LP. Apprise Media is backed by Spectrum Equity Investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
APG, which is based in Burbank, CA, dominates the fast-growing paintball enthusiast category with Action Pursuit Games and Paintball. The sport of paintball is a $1 billion industry, with more than 7.4 million participants and 2,500 paintball sites in the U.S. Participation in the segment has been growing at 10-15% a year. The company also publishes Inside Kung Fu and Grappling, which covers the fastest-growing segment of the martial arts category.
In conjunction with this acquisition, Apprise announced that it has named Craig Nickerson, 59, as APG's CEO. Nickerson has more than 30 years' experience in a range of senior management positions in publishing and advertising/communications. Most recently, he was President/CEO of Primedia's Automotive Enthusiast and Action Sports Group, which he took from a stable of 25 publications to 64 publications in four years, more than tripling revenues.
Charles G. McCurdy, Chairman and CEO of Apprise Media, said, "APG is a great addition to the enthusiast media platform we created with the acquisition of Beckett Media. We see enthusiast media as a strong growth segment for Apprise going forward. APG's magazines are essential to their markets, and we believe there are profitable growth opportunities, both through new publications and brand extensions as well as increased merchandise sales.
"APG will be led by Craig Nickerson, a veteran publishing executive," McCurdy added. "APG will operate as its own division within Apprise Enthusiast Media, sharing certain support resources with Beckett Media. We anticipate making follow-on acquisitions that will broaden our publishing footprint."
Nickerson previously held executive positions with World Color Press, CFW–the same company Apprise is now acquiring, and Petersen Publications. Nickerson is also a founding partner of Cause America Branding LLC, which develops cause-related marketing programs for corporations throughout the Southern California philanthropic community.
APG is Apprise's third acquisition of a specialty media company this year. In January, Apprise acquired Beckett Media, the leading publisher of sports and entertainment market collectible guides. In April, Apprise acquired Canon Communications, a leading producer of print publications, trade shows and digital media for the high-growth $200 billion medical device manufacturing market and allied packaging, plastics and electronics markets. Canon provides the platform for Apprise's growth in the business-to-business media sector.
About Apprise Media, LLC
Established in 2004 by Charles G. McCurdy, co-founder and former President of Primedia, Inc., Apprise Media (www.apprisemedia.com) concentrates on niche media, one of the fastest-growing segments in the media industry worldwide. Apprise currently operates two strategic platforms: Apprise Business Media LLC, which includes Canon Communications LLC, a leading publisher, trade show producer, and digital media company serving advanced, technology-based manufacturing industries, including medical device, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, specialty packaging, electronics, and plastics processing; and Apprise Enthusiast Media LLC, which serves a variety of attractive consumer niche markets through Beckett Media LP and the Action Pursuit Group
About Spectrum Equity Investors
Spectrum Equity Investors is a leading private equity firm specializing in investments in the media, communications, entertainment and information and business services industries throughout North America and Western Europe. Founded in 1994 and based in Boston, New York and Menlo Park, Spectrum has over $4 billion in capital under management. Spectrum's strategy is to invest substantial amounts of capital behind strong management teams and provide long-term and active board-level assistance to those teams to help them create and realize value. Significant investments include Apprise Media LLC, CBD Media LLC, Classic Media, Consolidated Communications, Inc., Eutelsat S.A., Loews Cineplex Entertainment, MyFamily.com, Inc., NEP, Inc, Patriot Media and Communications and RiskMetrics Group, Inc. For additional information, refer to
www.spectrumequity.com
