Monday, September 12, 2005

Apprise Media Acquires Y-Visionary, Publisher of Nine Automotive, Outdoor Sports and Shelter Magazines

Apprise Media LLC, a strategicmanagement and investment company focused on niche media, today announced thatit has acquired Y-Visionary LP, which publishes nine monthly and bi-monthlymagazines focused on the automotive aftermarket, outdoor sports and sheltersegments. The Y-Visionary publications will operate as part of the ActionPursuit Group (APG) of Apprise Enthusiast Media LLC, Apprise's platform in theenthusiast media sector whose other properties include Beckett Media LP.Apprise Media is backed by Spectrum Equity Investors. Terms of thetransaction were not disclosed. Charles G. McCurdy, Chairman and CEO of Apprise Media, said, "Thesepublications are a great fit with APG's existing action-enthusiast titles. Weplan to increase their value through reinvigoration of the magazines, as wellas investment in line extensions and merchandise sales. At the same time, weare actively pursuing other follow-on acquisitions that will expand APG'sfootprint. We know the automotive aftermarket and outdoor sports segmentsvery well. The breadth of experience of Craig Nickerson, APG's CEO, inbuilding a major automotive enthusiast and action sports group for Primediawill add enormous value to the management of these assets." "This acquisition dramatically increases critical mass for AppriseEnthusiast Media," McCurdy said. "We now have 25 magazines coveringattractive niche markets with total circulation of 1.2 million. We have avibrant and profitable online business in beckett.com. We'll have anintegrated merchandising business supporting both Beckett's entertainmentcollectibles and APG's books, videos, and related materials. And we have along-standing presence in specialty distribution channels and other non-traditional retail outlets." Y-Visionary's publications include Street Trucks, Import Racer, and DragRacer in the automotive segment; Bow & Arrow Hunting, Gun World, and KnivesIllustrated in the outdoor sports segment; and Victorian Homes and RomanticHomes in the shelter segment. Y-Visionary, based in Orange, California, is Apprise's fourth acquisitionof a specialty media company this year. In January, Apprise acquired BeckettMedia, the leading publisher of sports and entertainment market collectibleguides. In April, Apprise acquired Canon Communications, a leading producerof print publications, trade shows and digital media for the high-growth $200billion medical device manufacturing market and allied packaging, plastics andelectronics markets. Canon provides the platform for Apprise's growth in thebusiness-to-business media sector. In August, Apprise acquired CFWEnterprises, which dominates the fast-growing paintball enthusiast categorywhile also covering martial arts and grappling, the fastest-growing segment ofthe martial arts category.is a strategicmanagement and investment company. Controlled by Charles G. McCurdy, aco-founder and former President of Primedia Inc.Apprise Mediaacquires and builds businesses in the targeted media and publishing sectors.Apprise and Spectrum Equity Investors have joined forces in an investmentinitiative that has committed $175-$200 million of Spectrum's capital forstrategic investments in niche media and publishing businesses. ABOUT SPECTRUM EQUITY INVESTORS Spectrum Equity Investors is a leading private equity firm specializing ininvestments in the media, communications, entertainment and information andbusiness services industries throughout North America and Western Europe.Founded in 1994 and based in Boston, New York and Menlo Park, Spectrum hasover $4 billion in capital under management. Spectrum's strategy is to investsubstantial amounts of capital behind strong management teams and providelong-term and active board-level assistance to those teams to help them createand realize value. Significant investments include Apprise Media LLC, CBDMedia LLC, Classic Media, Consolidated Communications, Inc., Eutelsat S.A.,Loews Cineplex Entertainment, MyFamily.com, Inc., NEP, Inc, Patriot Media andCommunications and RiskMetrics Group, Inc.

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