GovExec (formerly Government Media Group) ended the summer the same way it began the season—with an acquisition.
In its fifth deal since June, GovExec announced it purchased 1105 Media’s Public 360 group, which serves the public sector IT community with media brands (including Washington Technology, FCW, GCN, and Federal Soup), events and demand gen and market solutions services.
With the addition of Public 360, GovExec claims it has the largest sector database with access to nearly 70 percent of federal technology buyers.
Troy K Schneider, the editor in chief for FCW and GCN, will take over the role of general manager of Government Technology Brands for GovExec, working with GovExec group publisher James Hanson.
“Public Sector 360 is a seminal acquisition for us,” said GovExec CEO Tim Hartman. “With Public Sector 360’s actionable intelligence for, and engagement with, government IT leaders, we will be able to deepen our bench strength across our core areas of data that informs, media that connects, and marketing services that activate.”
Seven Acquisitions with a Focus on Data and Business Tools
Since its own acquisition by private equity firm Growth Catalyst Partners and former Hanley Wood CEO Peter Goldstone in March 2020, GovExec has been on an M&A tear, making seven purchases (with five over the summer), including
- The Atlas for Cities, an online community and market intelligence platform for government leaders
- City & State New York, a local government media brand
- Power Almanac, a local government business intelligence data asset
- Military Periscope, an open-source military data source
- Government Contracting Institute, a business tool that alerts federal business contractors of new opportunities
- Government Marketing University, a training, skills development and career growth community platform
- Public 360
The bulk of GovExec’s acquisitions over the past year have been data or business intelligence tools, a common trend in B2B as publishers look to develop a complete solution (including high margin subscription data and research solutions and tools that make the publisher part of the customer’s workflow) while distancing themselves from the perceived fickleness of digital advertising (which actually saw a renaissance over the last year) or complete dependence on events, the golden goose that finally laid the wrong kind of egg in 2020.
Public 360 is a relatively “traditional” media acquisition for GovExec and illustrates the fact that even as b2b media shifts to a more modernized approach, it can’t lose sight of the roles content and media play in creating a community and then driving members of that community to the next stage of the business.
