Northstar Travel Group acquires Buying Business Travel Media
Northstar Travel Group today announced it has acquired Buying Business Travel from Panacea Media based in London. Buying Business Travel is the leading business-to-business brand in the UK serving the corporate travel industry with online media, events, and a magazine brand.
“Buying Business Travel gives us the leading brand in the UK to expand the geographic reach of Northstar’s Business Travel News’ dominant leadership in the North American corporate travel industry,” said Thomas Kemp, Chairman & CEO of Northstar Travel Group. “Buying Business Travel provides Northstar with a media position in the UK market to complement Northstar’s Business Travel Show, the largest exhibition serving the European corporate travel market,” said Kemp.
“We are pleased to complete this transaction with Northstar to bring these two leading media brands together in the UK market,” said Julian Gregory, Managing Director of Panacea Media. “I am proud of our team who have been so hard-working and innovative in creating the success of the magazine, website, awards and forums and I am confident that Northstar, with its global reach, will take Buying Business Travel to the next level.”
Buying Business Travel’s portfolio of products includes The Business Travel Awards, the most important annual awards recognizing leadership of corporate travel suppliers, The BBT Business Travel Forums, BBT Editor’s Lunches and Buying Business Travel magazine.
“The Buying Business Travel brand is an excellent strategic fit with Northstar’s Business Travel News, Travel Procurement and The Beat brands along with the recently acquired Business Travel Show in London,” said Louis Magliaro, SVP and Group Publisher of Northstar’s BTN Group. “The combination of these leading brands creates a powerful position for our expansion in the UK and European corporate travel market,” said Magliaro.
About Northstar Travel Group
Northstar Travel Group is the leading B-to-B information and marketing solutions company serving all segments of the travel industry including leisure/retail, corporate/business travel, corporate and sports meetings, incentives, hospitality, and travel technology.
Northstar is the owner of well-known brands including Travel Weekly U.S., TravelAge West, Travel Weekly China, Travel Pulse, Business Travel News, Successful Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, Incentive, M&C China, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Association Meetings International, Meetpie.com, Sports Travel, Travel42, Axus Travel App, Agent Studio, and Web in Travel.
The company produces more than 85 face-to-face events in 13 countries in retail travel, hospitality, corporate travel, travel technology, sports travel, and the meetings & incentive industry. Leadership events include the Phocuswright Conference, ALIS, The Business Travel Show, the largest corporate travel event in Europe, The Meetings Show, the largest meetings industry event in the UK, Web in Travel, CruiseWorld, Global Travel Marketplace, and TEAMS, the leading sports travel event.
In addition, Northstar owns Phocuswright, the leading research, business intelligence, and event producer serving the travel technology industry.
Northstar Travel Group owns the Burba Hotel Network, the leading producer of hotel investment events globally, including ALIS, the largest hotel investment conference in the world produced with the American Hotel & Lodging Association in Los Angeles each year.
Northstar is also the majority shareholder in Inntopia, the leading SaaS e-commerce software, CRM database marketing and predictive analytics business serving the mountain destination, golf, activities, hospitality, and specialty destination travel markets.
Based in Secaucus, NJ, the company has offices in New York, NY; Westampton, NJ; Stowe, VT; Denver, CO; Edwards, CO; Burlington, VT; Los Angeles, CA; Costa Mesa, CA; Lombard, IL; and global offices in London; East Grindstead, UK; Singapore; Beijing; and Shanghai.
Northstar Travel Group is owned by funds managed by EagleTree Capital.
About EagleTree Capital
EagleTree Capital, formerly Wasserstein Partners, is a New York based private equity and investment firm. It manages capital on behalf of global institutional and individual investors. EagleTree’s private equity funds invest primarily in the media and business services, consumer products, and water and industrial sectors. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com.
