VNU Acquires Shore-Varrone in the United States

Business Wire, Oct 7, 1998

HAARLEM, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 7, 1998--VNU, a leading international publishing and information group, today announced that its New York based subsidiary Bill Communications, Inc., has acquired Shore-Varrone, Inc. from Boston Ventures Management, Inc. and the management team of Shore-Varrone.

Shore-Varrone, based in Atlanta, is a business-to-business publisher, trade show producer and, through a recently formed joint venture, a retail point-of-sale information provider.

The company publishes ten business magazines, including Display & Design Ideas and Sports Trend, and produces seven trade shows, with GlobalShop being the most significant. The company's estimated revenues in 1998 will be approximately USD 28 million. Shore-Varrone employs more than 140 people.

Shore-Varrone's substantial business media position in the developing retail display and instore marketing sector and its trade show presence are particularly attractive to Bill Communications and to VNU, as is Shore-Varrone's joint venture position in a retail point-of-sale information provider to the sporting goods and related apparel fields. In early September, Bill Communications acquired three trade magazines from Progressive Grocer Associates.

Bill Communications is a subsidiary of VNU USA, which includes VNU Marketing Information Services, BPI Communications and SRDS. Bill Communications is a leading business-to-business publisher and trade show organizer in foodservice, food retail, sales and marketing, meetings and conventions, incentives, training and other fields.

VNU is a Netherlands-based international publishing and information company, whose operations include consumer and professional magazines, newspapers, telephone directories and information services, educational textbooks, marketing information services and entertainment.

VNU shares trade on the Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg Stock Exchanges and prices may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbol VNUN NA, on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under VNUS.AS and on Quotron under VNUN.EU. Its sponsored ADRs, each equal to one-half of an ordinary share, trade on the NASD OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol VNUNY.