Active Interest Media Acquires Equine Network and Horse Media Group

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Active Interest Media, Inc. (AIM, www.aimmedia.com) today announced it has acquired all equine titles and online properties published by the Source Interlink Media division of Source Interlink Companies, Inc. (Source, www.sourceinterlink.com) and by Horse Media Group (HMG, www.horsemediagroup.com). Effective today, AIM's new publishing group will cover all facets of the equine industry and will include the largest and most respected titles in the field. Additionally, Source and AIM announced a relationship under which Source will provide circulation services and newsstand marketing support to AIM's enthusiast titles.

Active Interest Media's Equine Network will include the print magazine titles EQUUS, Horse & Rider, Practical Horseman, Dressage Today, Arabian Horse World, Discover Horses and EquiManagement, and the online properties Equisearch.com, Equine.com, HorseBooksEtc.com and DiscoverHorses.com, from Source Interlink Media as well as the magazines Spin to Win Rodeo and Trail Rider and the online properties MyHorse.com, HitchUpMagazine.com and HorselinkMagazine.com from the Horse Media Group. American Cowboy magazine and website will join the newly formed AIM Equine Network. The total audience offered by the new group is over 700,000 readers and 600,000 unique visitors per month. According to MRI, the sport has grown 15% in the last five years.

"The world of horses is a quintessential enthusiast market and fits perfectly with our strategy and capabilities at Active Interest Media," said Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist III, CEO of AIM.  Andy Clurman, Chief Operating Officer, added, "This is a rare opportunity to bring together two great publishing groups, their leading brands, and excellent teams to serve horse enthusiasts.  We look forward to working with the equine communities to serve their media and information needs and to help promote their activities."

Jim Gillis, President and Chief Operating Officer of Source said, "AIM has earned a reputation of being a special interest media company that truly understands and is able to fulfill the needs of the enthusiast. It's an outstanding opportunity for every stakeholder with our equine brands to become part of this special interest media family. We all expect great things to come from this merger." Chris Argentieri, Chief Operating Officer of Source Interlink Media, added, " We look forward to a close relationship with AIM as we work together to leverage our circulation and newsstand expertise to assist AIM in continuing to grow and strengthen their world class enthusiast brands."

Tom Winsor, General Manager for HMG, said, "This is an exciting development for our employees, and certainly for our advertisers and readers. The new group will be far and away the most comprehensive collection of equine titles and online properties created and managed by horse people, for the benefit of horse people. It's this passion that's made each magazine and website so successful and will make them even more so as a group."

About Active Interest Media, Inc. (AIM, www.aimmedia.com)

Active Interest Media, Inc. (AIM) is a leading publisher of enthusiast magazines, consumer shows, books and Internet sites. AIM was formed by Wind Point Partners, a private equity investment firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Southfield, Michigan, in partnership with CEO Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist III, in October 2003.  

About Horse Media Group, Inc. (HMG, www.myhorse.com)

Horse Media Group, a partnership between Belvoir Media Group LLC and Winsor Publishing, is based in Louisville, Colorado. Belvoir is a leading publisher of reader-focused magazines, newsletters, books, web sites and electronic media.

About Source Interlink Companies, Inc. (Source, www.sourceinterlink.com)

Source Interlink Companies, Inc., based in Bonita Springs, Florida is a leading publishers of enthusiast titles, consumer shows and Internet sites and is one of the largest distributors of home entertainment products in the United States.  For more information about Source visit www.sourceinterlink.com.

SOURCE Active Interest Media, Inc.