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Annex and Newcom Purchase Trade Media Assets of Glacier

Annex Business Media, which owns PrintAction magazine, has teamed up with Newcom Business Media to acquire 67 trade-publishing brands from Vancouver-based Glacier Media Inc., a deal worth $19.65 million.

Among the 67 brands purchased, some of the media properties will immediately become part of Annex or Newcom’s existing companies. Mike Fredericks, President and CEO of Annex Business Media, states a new company called the Annex Newcom Limited Partnership has been formed as a joint venture to control the remaining assets not immediately taken on by either Annex or Newcom.

Holding more than 40 B2B brands before the acquisition, Annex Business Media, with locations in Simcoe and Aurora, Ontario, takes control of the following Glacier Media properties: Canadian Consulting Engineer; Pulp & Paper Canada; Pulp & Paper Annual Mill Directory; Pulp & Paper Buyer’s Guide; Canadian Contractor; Propainter; Heating, Plumbing & Air Conditioning; Produits de Chaufage et Climatazation; On-Site; Canadian Plastics; Canadian Plastics Directory; Plastique Et Moules; Maintenance Repair Operations; Electronic Products & Technology; EP&T Directory (Electrosource); Canadian Packaging; Design Engineering; Canadian Metalworking; Plant; and Plant West.

The vast majority of the titles directly purchased by Annex are published as print magazines, in addition to their online properties and industry conferences or trade shows. Annex also takes over the online titles of Frasers.com and Canadianmanufacturing.com including Cleantech. “Theses are some of the best titles in B2B publishing in Canada that were developed over decades of publishing leadership in Canada by companies like MacLean Hunter and Southam,” said Fredericks, noting the deal also includes Scott’s Directories. “Annex believes in Canadian B2B markets and providing high-quality content to business communities whether in print, digital or live events.”

Annex Media prints all of its previously owned magazine assets in-house at the Simcoe, Ontario, facility, on a Heidelberg SM74 press. Fredericks explains, that once the current printing arrangements are completed, production of the newly purchased titles will also transition over to the Simcoe plant in the next number of months. Annex is currently in the final stages of reviewing presses to replace the SM74.

Newcom Business Media is based on Toronto with an office in Montreal. The media company produces five primary print titles, including Today’s Trucking, Truck and Trailer, Transport Router, Canadian Technician and Plumbing + HVAC, as well as three large trade shows associated with these titles.

“This is a great opportunity for both companies to expand into areas that complement our core businesses, and for these brands and their teams to grow as part of our focused B2B approach,” said Fredericks. “We look forward to welcoming these operations to our company, and in time a group of new customers to the print plant.”

The acquisition by Annex and Newcom includes approximately 230 employees in editorial, sales, circulation, production, digital, and administration positions. The purchased Glacier Media properites are to continue operating out of their Toronto location for the foreseeable future.