Post Company Forms New Publishing Unit To Serve the High-Tech Information Community

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Post Company announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire several leading computer industry trade publications and two trade shows from U.S. subsidiaries of Reed Elsevier Inc. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The Post Company will merge the newly acquired properties with the assets of its TechNews, Inc., subsidiary to form a new business unit: Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc.

Andrew Jacobson, currently president of TechNews, Inc., will become president of the new unit. Beverly R. Keil, a vice president of The Washington Post Company, will serve as its chief executive officer.

The computer titles being purchased from Reed Elsevier include:

"Government Computer News," the leading trade newspaper on information technology for 81,000 government technology managers and buyers; and

"Reseller Management," a monthly magazine serving 85,000 value-added resellers of information technology.

"Government Computer News," published 30 times a year, has three companion publications: GCN State & Local (monthly), GCN Shopper (eight times a year), and Contracts Sourcing Guide (annual).

The TechNews publications that will become part of Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc., are:

"Washington Technology," a bi-weekly newspaper with circulation of 40,000;

"Integration Management," a bi-weekly magazine with circulation of 65,000;

"TechCapital," a bi-monthly magazine with circulation of 50,000;

"Technology Almanac," an annual directory.

The TechNews and Reed Elsevier publications are distributed primarily via controlled circulation.

Post-Newsweek Business Information also will run two trade shows being acquired from Reed Elsevier: FOSE and FEDnet/FEDimaging. FOSE, held each spring in Washington, D.C., is attended by 35,000 to 40,000 information technology decision-makers in federal, state, and local governments, as well as by many industry executives.

FEDnet/FEDimaging, held in the late fall in Washington, is attended by 5,000 to 10,000 government personnel with responsibility for networked computing and electronic information systems.

"This acquisition sends a signal that The Washington Post Company is serious about deepening our coverage of the information technology community, particularly in the Washington region," said Alan G. Spoon, president of The Washington Post Company. "We intend to bring The Post Company's traditional high-quality editorial resources to this fast-growing field."

"With this acquisition, Post-Newsweek Business Information will have strong positions in three fast-growing technology industry segments," said Andrew Jacobson, president of the new unit. "These include government computing, value-added resale and systems integration (known as the 'channel'), and technology finance."

"The combination of the Reed Elsevier and TechNews publications creates a competitive advantage with a powerful circulation reach for advertisers," Jacobson said.

Beverly Keil said: "Post-Newsweek Business Information plans to retain current employees of the Reed Elsevier properties. These skilled individuals bring in-depth knowledge about their publications, trade shows, and their customers. Their continuing contributions will help us serve the needs of readers, advertisers, and exhibitors in these important markets."

Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc., is based in Vienna, VA, and will have offices in Silver Spring, MD, and Newton, MA, when the acquisition is completed.

The computer magazines are being acquired from Reed Elsevier Business Information, a U.S.-based unit of Reed Elsevier Inc. that publishes more than 120 business magazines. The exhibitions are being acquired from Reed Exhibition Companies, another unit of Reed Elsevier Inc. The sale results from a decision made by Reed Elsevier Business Information and Reed Exhibitions to focus on other markets, according to Reed Elsevier spokesmen.

Contact:
Andrew Jacobson, Post-Newsweek Business Information,
(703) 873-3513
Margaret Pantridge, Reed Elsevier Business Information,
(617) 558-4353