Whitestone Communications, which introduced a category for specialized-information publishing in its Who's Buying Whom quarterly mergers and acquisitions activity report for the first quarter in 2007, said the number of deals in that category increased 11% over the same quarter a year ago, although dollar volume declined 29% for the same period. "We are following the lead of the Newsletter and Electronic Publishers Association, which has changed its name to the Specialized Information Publishers Association," explained Whitestone President Baran Rosen. "SIPA made the move in recognition of the fact that newsletter companies are morphing into businesses that provide niche information in forms other than newsletters, namely on the Internet an dother electronic distribution. The number of pure newsletter transactions has also dwindled to a level to be meaningless, so it no longer makes sense to track newsletter deals as a separate category." Rosen explained that the Specialized Informationi Provider category will include by medium (newsletter, directory, electronic information and content-related Internet deals) and by subject "any business-related subject, which would include, for example, legal, accounting, real estate, finance, insurance and health care." In the first quarter of this year, Whitestone reports the number of specialized information provider deals totaled 51 and dollar value $1.1 billion versus 46 deals and $1.5 billion in the same period last year.
From SIPA Hotline © May 14, 2007
