**Firm's private equity affiliate, VS&A Communications Partners, owner of Hanley-Wood and The Official Information Company, is the only financial player to gain top seed among top 200 tradeshows

New York, NY --June 5, 2001-- Media investment bank and investor Veronis Suhler reports that it is now ranked Number 7 among the Top 10 tradeshow management organizations in North America, managing 6 of the 200 largest tradeshows in the US and Canada.

Through its private equity affiliate, VS&A Communications Partners, Veronis Suhler makes principal investments in a diverse set of media, communications and information industries. In recent years, as an investor in business publishing and information services, Veronis Suhler has emerged as a major owner/operator of tradeshows and conferences, in the US as well as in Europe.

Rankings of the Top 200 industry expositions are tracked annually by Trade Show Week Magazine. VS&A Communications earned its top-tier position through its ownership of two integrated business media companies with substantial trade show operations, Hanley-Wood LLC and The Official Information Company (see below for background descriptions on the two companies).

Since 1987, Veronis Suhler has built a portfolio of more than two dozen platform companies across a broad spectrum of media segments, from consumer broadcasting and publishing to specialized business information, trade shows, and B2B publishing.

"We adhere to a core strategy of investing in growth-oriented, middle-market media and content/information companies," said Jeffrey Stevenson, president and managing general partner of VS&A Communications Partners. Mr. Stevenson has directed the firm's private equity activities since the launch of its first media fund in 1987.

"The tradeshow segment remains extremely attractive to us - even as companies search for new ways to produce online exchanges and virtual marketplaces, there is no substitute for live events and industry shows," Mr. Stevenson said. "That's where the customers are it's also where your competition is. Tradeshows remain the most vital marketplace bringing buyers and sellers together in many industries." In addition to Hanley Wood and TOIC, the Veronis Suhler portfolio includes several other prominent B2B tradeshow operators, including Chemical Week Associates, HCIA-Sachs, Canon Communications, Phillips Business Information, and London-based ITE Ltd., one of the largest international tradeshow operators.

Veronis Suhler's ranking in the Top 10 represents the aggregate value of its portfolio companies. Starting next year, Tradeshow Week will list Veronis Suhler in its annual rankings of the largest owner/operators of tradeshows, as measured by total square feet under management.

"Tradeshow production, technology, and attendance has increased significantly in the last five years," explains Mr. Stevenson. "Despite the hype of online B2B exchanges and consortiums, tradeshows, events, and conferences have proven themselves to be the most potent platform for companies to win business."

In 2000, the tradeshow industry represented a total value of $1.4 billion in revenue, accounting for over 69 million square feet of exhibit space. This was up 7.7% from the previous year.

One of the larger shows produced by a Veronis Suhler portfolio company is Hanley-Wood's "World of Concrete," which is the construction industry's largest annual international tradeshow. The 2001 event was held February 26-March 2 in Las Vegas and brought together more than 77,000 construction professionals from 105 countries. Products and equipment were on display representing 1,557 exhibitors, encompassing 760,000 net square feet of space inside and outside the convention center. Next year's event will be held January 8-12, 2002 in New Orleans.

The Top 10

Leading Show Managements by Number of Tradeshow Week 200 Shows and Share of Market:

Leading Show Managements by Net Sq. Ft. of Tradeshow Week 200 Shows and Share of Market

About Hanley-Wood, LLC
Hanley-Wood is the leading B2B communications company in the residential construction industry. H-W publishes 26 different magazine titles, including 13 targeted to the home building, remodeling, and commercial construction industries, and 13 house-plan magazines. With eight Web sites, H-W has a huge Internet presence including the construction industry's super sites cbuild.com (for content) and ebuild.com (for e-commerce). To expand further its Internet presence, H-W recently established iHousing, LLC to make equity investments in relevant and strategic dot-com companies. H-W also produces five tradeshows, seven conferences, and has a custom publishing division.

About The Official Information Company
TOIC operates two principal lines of business-professional and business information services, and B2B communications, publishing, and related services. The professional and business information division includes Total Information Services, Inc. (TISI), which provides pre-employment screening to the trucking, gaming, healthcare, airline, staffing, retail, banking, and other industries. The B2B communications division includes ExpoExchange, the leading Internet-based marketplace and e-commerce provider for the trade show industry and GEM Communications, which provides trade publications and tradeshows to the gaming industry, both domestic and international, in addition to tradeshow newspapers and directories to multiple industries.

About Veronis Suhler
Founded in 1981 by publishing industry executives John J. Veronis and John S. Suhler, Veronis Suhler is a leading independent merchant bank exclusively dedicated to the media, communications, and information industries. Since its formation, Veronis Suhler has acted as a financial advisor across the full spectrum of media industry segments including Broadcasting, Cable & Entertainment; Newspaper Publishing; Consumer Magazines; Business Information Services; Consumer, Professional & Educational Books; Business-to-Business Communications; Specialty Media & Marketing Services; and the Internet. Veronis Suhler (www.vss.com) has more than 125 professionals in its investment banking and private equity operations, with headquarters in New York and a London affiliate.

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