CMP buys Sand Hill Group's Software conference for up to $9m
CMP, the trade media publisher has acquired Sand Hill Group's Software 2007 conference, one of the top enterprise software conferences. The deal was lead by Eric Faurot, senior vp at CMP, and its chief strategist.
Mr Faurot told Silicon Valley Watcher that CMP is building up its events business and there is an opportunity to create another Comdex-like show. "The IT industry is a one trillion dollar industry yet it does not have a big show."
The Comdex show closed in 2004, a victim of its huge size and the resulting management challenges. It used to attract more than 200,000 people. The Consumer Electronics Show is now the largest tech show but it doesn't serve the needs of IT professionals.
CMP is a US subsidiary of United Business Media, a publicly traded company in the United Kingdom. The deal could be worth as much as $9m provided certain performance levels are achieved. Sand Hill Group received an initial payment of $5.5m and the rest will be paid over a three year period.
CMP owns the Interop conference which has a strong following, and its parent company has been acquiring other shows. It recently acquired The Game Initiative, a game developer conference. And in January 2006 it paid $65m for MediaLive.
- - -
Please see:
