UPDATE: Northstar Travel Media Buys Nielsen’s Travel Group Brands

Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Media is expected to announce today that it has acquired five media brands from Nielsen Business Media’s travel group.

The deal includes Successful Meetings, Business Travel News, Meeting News, Incentive and MiMegasite, an online meetings industry portal. Financial terms were not immediately available.

UPDATE: According to Northstar CEO Tom Kemp, the acquisition is an example of the company taking advantage of cyclical weakness to strengthen itself for the long term. “We’re taking advantage of a strong balance sheet and strong position in our markets to acquire strong brands at attractive prices,” he told FOLIO:. “We believe these brands have been under invested in recent years. The served markets are down significantly but we believe in the business travel and meetings industries.”

Kemp said Northstar will continue to publish the newly-acquired brands in print at least in the short term while the company reevaluates brand positions. “We want to keep our options open,” he said.

While there will be some integration of staffs and some elimination of personnel, the brands eventually will see an expansion in headcount across business functions, Kemp said.

Northstar publishes several magazines serving the retail travel and corporate/association meetings, conventions and conferences sectors. They include: Travel Weekly, TravelAge West, Meetings & Conventions, and the Hotel & Travel Index.

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