AMR International supports Northstar Travel Media in the acquisition of PhoCusWright

Deal: Acquisition of PhoCusWright
Client: Northstar Travel Media
Deal size: Undisclosed

Background
Northstar's strategy is to grow its share of event and subscription revenue relative to trade advertising. PhoCusWright is a strong strategic fit with Northstar: it produces the leading conference in travel technology and publishes subscription research in the same fast-growing market.

Approach / result
Northstar engaged AMR to conduct commercial due diligence. The major issues were to assess the sustainability and competitive advantage of the business. AMR conducted a program of interviews with PhoCusWright customers, including the C-level attendees and speakers at the conference, and analyzed internal metrics such as renewal rates.

We concluded that the conference has an extraordinary level of loyalty among attendees because it creates a unique opportunity for networking and deal-making. The research business is unique because its analysts have deep and unmatched expertise in online travel distribution. Moreover, both businesses offer significant upside through new launches or cross-selling. The biggest challenge post-acquisition is managing the conference's continuity and ensuring audience quality is maintained.

Following the completion of due diligence, Northstar acquired PhoCusWright.