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K-III's McMullen Argus Becomes Largest Auto Enthusiast Publisher in Nation With Acquisition of Low Rider

6 August 1997

K-III's McMullen Argus Becomes Largest Auto Enthusiast Publisher in Nation With Acquisition of Low Rider

            New Title is Largest Automotive Magazine on Newsstand

    NEW YORK, Aug. 6 -- K-III Communications Corporation
, announced today that Park Avenue Publishing has been acquired by
K-III's McMullen Argus enthusiast magazine unit, based in Placentia, CA.  Park
Avenue, of Pomona, CA, publishes Low Rider, the top-selling automotive
magazine at the newsstand, as well as Arte, Low Rider Bicycle, and Low Rider
Japan.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
    Low Rider, the largest of the acquired publications, has a monthly
circulation of  238,803 copies.  It is the leading enthusiast magazine
covering low riders -- cars highly stylized and, in particular, customized
with hydraulics systems that permit the chassis to be lowered within inches of
the ground and raised again.  Low riders, which originated in Hispanic
communities from California to Texas, are becoming increasingly mainstream.
    "K-III's strategy of building leadership positions in niche markets is
nowhere more in evidence than in the area of automotive information.  With the
acquisition of Low Rider, McMullen Argus becomes the largest automotive
enthusiast publisher in the country by number of titles and advertising
pages," said William F. Reilly, chairman and chief executive officer of K-III.
"Low Rider's single copy distribution is quite good, and it has the highest
single copy sales of any automotive magazine in America -- bigger even than
Motor Trend and Car and Driver. With K-III's clout on the newsstand, we are
confident that newsstand sales will be even higher."
    "Our 40 titles sell more than 26 million copies annually in over 60
countries.  With more than 16,000 advertising pages sold this year, McMullen
Argus has become the dominant information provider for the $23 billion
automotive specialty equipment after-market," said Bill Porter, president and
CEO of K-III's McMullen Argus.
    K-III is a leading provider of automotive information.  McMullen Argus'
other well-known titles include Truckin', Super Chevy, European Car and Sport
Compact Car.  K-III's other automotive properties include Ward's Automotive,
Automobile magazine, The Automotive Satellite Television Network,
Intellichoice, and The Redbook Vehicle Valuation Guides.
    K-III Communications, a media company with 1996 sales of $1.4 billion, is
the authoritative source of specialized information concentrating in specialty
magazines (specialty consumer magazines and technical and trade magazines),
education (classroom learning and workplace learning),  and information
(consumer directories and business directories).  Some key brands include
Channel One, Weekly Reader, World Almanac, Seventeen, New York, and Soap Opera
Digest.

SOURCE  K-III Communications Corporation