News:
Please welcome Phillip Kimball of the University of Utah Hospital and Clinics as our new HDI Chapter President! Many thanks to Former President, Daniel Jimmie,
who is pursuing other opportunities at this time.
CMP Technology will keep all 38 employees here By WAYNE HEILMAN
THE GAZETTE January 23, 2008 - 11:13PM United Business Media plc’s CMP Technology unit acquired Colorado Springs-based Think Service Inc. on Tuesday for $24.5 million,
one of the biggest deals in recent years involving a local company.
CMP plans to retain all 38 employees of Think Service, which operates a 7,500-member trade group for help desk and information technology professionals called HDI,
said Ruthann Fisher, vice president and brand director for CMP’s International Customer Management Institute.
Ron Muns, who owned 86 percent of Think Service, and other investors in the company can earn up to $5 million during the next year if Think Service meets earnings
targets, Fisher said. Muns will remain as a consultant to Think Service for up to 12 months.
“This acquisition deepens our portfolio of services beyond the call center to help desk and IT support centers creating a full-service offering to these professionals
on a global scale,” Philip Chapnick, group president of CMP, said in a news release issued Wednesday.
Muns said he decided to sell Think Service after his wife had a heart attack about a year ago. He said he hired New York-based Jordan, Edmiston Group Inc. in May to
find a buyer for the company and selected CMP among five other bidders.
“This was the best fit, and that made us more valuable to them,” Muns said. “There are three legs to this business — the membership, the conferences and the
certification training — and you need all of them. CMP understands that and will serve all three areas.”
Muns said he has “agreed to retire for six months and then reconsider” and will spend more time golfing.
The transaction doesn’t include the Information Technology Infrastructure Management Association, a related group Muns started in 2006 that will be shut down, Fisher
said. The shutdown won’t involve any layoffs because the group shared employees with Think Service, she said.
The deal marks the second time Muns has sold Think Service, a company he founded in 1989 and sold to Ziff-Davis Inc. in 1992. Since buying back the company in 1999,
he more than doubled membership and increased revenue sixfold to more than $15 million last year.
HDI, formerly called the Help Desk Institute, operates 68 chapters in North America, offers training sessions and hosts an annual conference and expo that attracts
more than 2,000 participants. This year’s conference is scheduled March 9-12 in Dallas.
Think Service will operate as an independent unit within CMP’s International Customer Management Institute, a trade group that provides consulting, training,
management tools, seminars, conferences, trade shows and publications to the call-center industry.
The acquisition is the latest in a series of deals by Manhasset, N.Y.-based CMP to acquire online and events brands and businesses to diversify away from its
technology publications, which include TechWeb, Information-Week, ChannelWeb, CRN and EE Times.
“The acquisition of TSI is another step in the continuing development of CMP’s global exhibition, training and consulting business servicing the worldwide IT support
market,” David Levin, United Business Media’s chief executive, said in a news release.
United Business Media was started in 1918 as United Newspapers Ltd. and once owned the Journal of Commerce and several television networks. The company acquired CMP
in 1999 and also owns PR Newswire, Building magazine and several other magazines.
United Business Media Acquires Think Service Acquisition enables CMP Technology to further expand its global professional IT support exhibition, training and consultancy business in the call center
management market New York, NY January 23, 2008 – United Business Media plc (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com) today
announced that it has acquired Think Service, Inc. (www.thinkhdi.com) on behalf of CMP Technology
(www.cmp.com). UBM has acquired Think Service from its founder-owners for an initial cash consideration of
$24.5 million, with a further performance-related consideration of up to $5 million, payable over the next 12 months.
The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (www.jegi.com), a New York-based independent investment bank that specializes
in media and information, represented Think Service in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor.
Headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO, Think Service is a membership, certification and training, and events organization focused on IT service and support
practitioners. It is the U.S. market leader in the provision of training and information to service desk employees, also known as help desk employees. With 38
full-time employees, TSI operates the oldest and largest association for IT support personnel in the world, serving more than 7,500 members. TSI also organizes
an annual Conference & Expo that attracts over 2,000 attendees and is recognized as the industry’s leading event for IT support professionals.
TSI is a highly complementary addition to CMP Technology’s existing International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) business which focuses on call center
consulting, membership, certification and training, and events. ICMI was acquired in 2005 to complement CMP’s existing leadership position in call center events
and marketing services. UBM has continued to build its customer management and call center business worldwide, with interests now extending across the U.S., UK,
Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand and Japan.
David Levin, Chief Executive Officer of United Business Media, said, “Think Service is a business with strong revenue and profit growth potential, both in the U.S.
and worldwide and is a great fit with CMP Technology’s existing ICMI business. The acquisition of TSI is another step in the continuing development of CMP’s global
exhibition, training and consulting business serving the worldwide professional IT support market, an attractive and growing market.”
About Think Service
Think Service is dedicated to helping IT service and support professionals and their organizations maximize the return on their professional development expenditures.
To this end, TSI focuses on establishing industry best practices, developing certification and training programs based on internationally-recognized standards, and
providing members with timely access to valuable industry resources and events. Founded in 1989, Think Service is the world’s largest membership association for
internal and external IT Service and Support professionals, with more than 7,500 members and 68 local chapters worldwide.
About United Business Media
United Business Media is a leading global business media company that informs markets and brings the world’s buyers and sellers together at events, through online,
in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. UBM focuses on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers,
from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. The company’s 5,000 staff in more than 30 countries is organized into specialist
teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and sustain effective and efficient markets.
About JEGI
The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI) of New York, NY is a leading independent investment bank for the media and information industries. As a leading M&A advisor
to media and information companies, JEGI has closed numerous high-profile transactions for: Global Media and Information Companies; Entrepreneurial Owners; and
Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds. JEGI has established an impeccable reputation in the marketplace, which reflects its superior performance on behalf of
its clients. The firm’s executive team of investment bankers has over 200 years of combined experience across the media and information market sectors that JEGI
serves.
