WORLD - TNT Publishing, owner of TNT Events which organises the TNT Sun and Snow and the TNT Travel Show at Earls Court, has made a series of international acquisitions.
The UK publisher of travel and lifestyle weekly magazine TNT has acquired TNT Magazine Australia and New Zealand for an undisclosed sum. In a separate deal, the company also purchased networking event Independent Travel Exchange (ITE), the Adventure and Backpacker Industry Conference (ABiC), the Golden Backpack Awards and the B2B newsletter and website Backpacker Trade News, formerly known as Thumbrella from its owner, Focal Attractions.
The deal sees the TNT Magazine brand reunited globally under CEO Kevin Ellis, with TNT Australia and New Zealand MD Ian Wakeling appointed as a non-executive director for the new Australian company. Focal Attractions publishing director Martin Lane will consult on this year’s ITE, ABiC and the Golden Backpacks.
Kevin Ellis, who was appointed by parent company Red Reef Media’s city investors 18 months ago to lead the UK organisation’s restructuring, said: “Our new team at TNT has made massive progress in breathing new life into a famous brand. Now, with stable finances and improved profitability in the UK, it was the right time to realise our next ambition – to reunite the brands that got separated some years ago and progress towards establishing a firm global footprint.”
Ellis said reuniting the brands was important not only for the business, the brand and for the independent travelling community but also for advertising clients.
“Extending the reach and range of the media and events developed by Wakeling and Lane will enable those clients to engage with individuals on the global scale they deserve,” he said.
Lane noted Focal Attractions was looking for a company that could turn Backpacker Trade News and the events portfolio into international brands.
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