Bonnier Corp. Buys Four Hunting Expos from Target Communications

Bonnier Corporation, publisher of magazines including Field & Stream and Outdoor Life, has purchased four hunting expos from Mequon, Wisconsin-based Target Communications for an undisclosed sum. The company plans to rebrand the events the Field & Stream Deer & Turkey Expo and will continue to run the shows four times a year—in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin respectively—with the expos’ current staff, who have joined Bonnier as a result of the deal.

The events attract an average of 350 exhibitors and 10,000-20,000 attendees on 120,000-150,000 square feet, according to Nick Curci, president of Westport, Connecticut-based Corporate Solutions, the firm that advised Target Communications in the deal. According to Eric Zinczenko, vice president and group publisher of Bonnier’s Outdoor Group, “it is not unconceivable” that the company will add more cities to the show’s current lineup in a year or two.

Bonnier expects this franchise to offer “a significant source of revenue,” writes Zinczenko in an email to FOLIO:. “Our strategy going forward is to aggregate as much audience as we can regardless of format,” he says, adding that the acquisition allows Bonnier’s Outdoor Group “to offer a higher level of integration for our client base by bundling these expos with our other media offerings.”

The events will be produced by Bonnier’s Events and Entertainment group, which currently runs the Warren Miller film tour and the Professional Wakeboard Tour. According to Zinczenko, as the group becomes familiar with the execution of these expos, it will seek similar opportunities for Bonnier’s other brands—which include Popular Science, Boating and SKI—either through additional acquisitions or new launches.

While Zinczenko would not disclose terms of the deal, he says, “This is a 27-year business that operated smartly through recessions and survived decades of change in media and consumer behavior,” and the company “would not have considered this acquisition if the financials weren’t there.”

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