Unfortunate timing… I think many of us missed this.
-Ian.
——- http://pulver.com/reports/vonews.html
Key3Media, the World’s Leading Producer of Technology Tradeshows and Events, Announced Its Strategic Acquisition of Networking Pioneer pulver.com’s VON and SIP Events
LOS ANGELES–Sept. 11, 2001–
Global Acquisition Completes Months of Planning that Places Key3Media at the Forefront of Networking Space
Key3Media Group, Inc. (NYSE: KME) today announced that one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries has acquired two major pulver.com event brands: Voice on the Net (VON) Conferences and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Summits. Pulver.com is considered one of the industry leaders in the Networking and IP communications space. As part of a long-term agreement, pulver.com President and CEO Jeff Pulver will continue to manage the VON and SIP tradeshows and conferences for Key3Media.
This acquisition culminates six months of strategic planning and analysis to position Key3Media as the industry leader for networking tradeshows and events. After months of research it became quite clear that pulver.com’s VON and SIP events were a perfect fit for Key3Media and a match that will quickly differentiate Key3Media networking events in the future.
“Ten years ago the PC defined the IT industry. Today the network is defining the industry and will continue to do so for the next decade. This acquisition strategically positions Key3Media to play a dominant role in the networking space,” said Fredric D. Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Key3Media Group, Inc. “Key3Media’s NetWorld+Interop brand has always been the definitive networking event in the industry. Now the synergies created with this new acquisition position Key3Media as the unparalleled leader, bringing together buyers and sellers in the networking and IP communications industries.”
Jeff Pulver, President and CEO of pulver.com, Inc., is a globally respected visionary with more than a decade of experience in Internet and IP communications and is a dynamic entrepreneur. He is the publisher of Internet technology related research such as The pulver Report, the founder of the VON and SIP events, and the producer of the Presence and Instant Messaging (PIM) trade show. Mr. Pulver is the co-founder of the VON Coalition, Free World Dialup, Vonage and WHP Wireless and is one of the true pioneers in Internet telephony whose expertise is widely utilized in the telecommunications industry.
There are six VON Conferences around the world each year. The VON Conferences focus on the convergence of the telecom and Internet industries. The next VON Conference, Fall 2001 VON, will be taking place October 15-18, 2001 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Other upcoming VON Conferences will be held in Hong Kong in November, San Jose in January, Seattle in April, and Helsinki in June. There are currently two SIP Summits each year. Fall 2001 SIP Summit will be taking place September 10-13 in Austin, Texas. SIP Summit enables attendees to listen to the senior executives responsible for driving the international SIP industry forward and to meet with these players to take advantage of unique business and personal networking opportunities.
“As the world’s leading information technology event producer, Key3Media has set out to reinvent the tradeshow industry with customer-centric programs and community-focused content,” said Jeff Pulver, President and CEO of pulver.com, Inc. “I am pleased that pulver.com’s VON and SIP events will now have a unique opportunity to grow to the next level under the Key3Media umbrella.” Corporate Solutions of Fairfield, Connecticut was the exclusive representative for pulver.com in this transaction.
About pulver.com
pulver.com builds community for the IP Communications industry through conferences, newsletters, mailing lists, analysis, liaison roles, advise to start-ups, summits, test projects and its web site. This role started with the emerging VoIP industry and has expanded into the instant messaging, wireless internet and broadband home spaces, since such services provide an integral back end to the increased functionality of IP-based communications. The company’s founder, Jeff Pulver, has been involved with the technology since the beginning. For more information, visit www.pulver.com.
About Key3Media…
Key3Media Group, Inc., is the world’s leading producer of information technology tradeshows and conferences, serving more than 6,000 exhibiting companies and 1.5 million attendees through 60 events in 18 countries. Key3Media’s products range from the IT industry’s largest exhibitions such as COMDEX and NetWorld+Interop to highly focused events featuring renowned educational programs, custom seminars and specialized vendor marketing programs. For more information about Key3Media, visit www.key3media.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are “forward-looking statements,” including statements about Key3Media’s future results, plans and goals and other events which have not yet occurred. These statements are to qualify for the safe harbors from liability provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can find many (but not all) of these statements by looking for words like “will”, “may”, “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans” and “estimates” and for similar expressions. Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are many factors that could cause Key3Media’s actual results to differ, materially from those expressed or implied in this release. These include, but are not limited to, economic conditions generally and in the information technology industry in particular; the timing of Key3Media’s events and their popularity with exhibitors, sponsors and attendees; technological changes and developments; intellectual property rights; competition; capital expenditures; and factors impacting Key3Media’s international operations. In addition, the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Prospectus Supplement dated June 22, 2001 filed by Key3Media with the SEC under Rule 424(b) relating to its high yield bond offering and the section entitled “Item 1.Business – Certain Factors That May Affect our Business” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 filed by Key3Media with the SEC contain important cautionary statements and a discussion of many of the factors that could materially affect the accuracy of Key3Media’s forward-looking statements and/or adversely affect its business, results of operations and financial position. These statements and discussions are incorporated herein by reference. Key3Media does not plan to update any forward-looking statements.
Key3Media, COMDEX, NetWorld+Interop, Interop and associated design marks and logos are trademarks owned or used under license by Key3Media Events, Inc., and may be registered in the United States and other countries. NetWorld is a service mark of Novell, Inc., and is registered in certain jurisdictions. Other names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.