CCI Media, Inc., publisher of the leading wood manufacturing magazine FDMC, announced that it has acquired Woodworking Network, the top media and events channel for the woodworking industry.

The acquisition, effective December 1, 2015, includes all woodworking industry related print, events and intellectual property assets currently operated by Vance Publishing, Lincolnshire, Illinois, including: WoodworkingNetwork.com website; Red Book Marketplace; Closets Magazine; the Toronto Woodworking Machinery & Supply Expo (WMS); Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo, as well as other woodworking-related events and properties in development.  

“For FDMC, the combination with Woodworking Network will provide audiences with the best of the two strongest wood industry media players,” said Tim Fixmer, CEO of CCI Media, Inc. “It’s all about providing readers with information when, where and how they want it.” Fixmer founded CCI Media, Inc. in 2010 and acquired CabinetMaker+FDM from Watt Global Media in 2011.

Subscribers to FDMC’s print and digital publication, the industry’s most popular, will now find their favorite publication embedded at the industry’s most trafficked website, WoodworkingNetwork.com. In 2015 WoodworkingNetwork.com generated 2.4 million page views from 800,000 unique visitors, based on independent reports through Google Analytics.

“While this unique opportunity arose as a result of the Vance family determining it would exit all 14 of its publishing business, CCI Media continues to be in expansion mode,” said Fixmer. “We welcome other opportunities for compatible properties that advance our mission.”

About CCI Media, Inc.  

CCI Media, Inc. entered the market in 2010 in search of B2B brands that had a solid core following and a brilliant future. Its first transaction was consummated in February of 2011 with the acquisition of CabinetMaker+FDM, now FDMC, and its affiliated media brands from Watt Publishing. In 2011, CCI Media stabilized the brands in the wood products manufacturing markets they serve and since have experienced four solid years of exceptional growth in print and digital products. CCI Media continues its search for additional B2B brands to build its portfolio. It is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. www.fdmcdigital.com

About Tim Fixmer

The CCI team is headed by Tim Fixmer, CEO, a seasoned B2B media executive, a team builder who has launched, acquired, and grown more than 30 brands in print, digital, and event properties serving specialized business segments ranging from high-tech and agriculture to manufacturing and commercial real estate. In an era of rapid evolution in media platforms and revenue models, Fixmer has orchestrated the metamorphosis of multiple publications from a narrow print focus to synergistic print/digital/face-to-face multimedia publishing, with solid fiscal results.

Fixmer has held executive positions with media organizations of widely varied sizes, including VNU, Cygnus Business Media, IIR Publishing, Duke Communications, Johnson Hill Press, and Stamats Business Media, where he most recently held the position of president.

About the Transaction

Mesirow Financial acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Vance Publishing Corporation on this sale, which includes deals with Farm Journal, Inc., Bobit Business Media, Inc. and CCI Media LLC. Under the agreement, Farm Journal acquired the Company’s Agribusiness and Produce divisions, while Bobit and CCI purchased Vance’s Salon and Woodworking divisions, respectively