EMAP Petersen Acquires Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School
7 May 1999
EMAP Petersen Acquires Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School
NEW YORK, May 6 -- EMAP Petersen, Inc., the largest special
interest magazine publisher in the U.S. with over 160 publications and over
100 trade and consumer events including extensive auto titles and auto shows,
announced today that it has acquired Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School, an
auto racing school which offers an extensive curriculum in drag racing.
With the acquisition of Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School
(http://www.frankhawley.com), Petersen continues to strengthen its position in the
Performance Automotive industry. For over thirteen years, Frank Hawley's Drag
Racing School has offered an extensive curriculum in drag racing, graduating
over 5,000 students. Based in Southern California, Hawley has school
facilities at the National Hot Rod Association's (NHRA) racetrack on the
grounds of Fairplex in Pomona. Hawley, a former professional drag racer, is
well known for tutoring many of the top NHRA professional drivers.
James D. Dunning Jr., Chairman and CEO, of EMAP Petersen Inc. said,
"Petersen views this move as a creative acquisition of a company and brand
that will allow Petersen to compliment its various brands, like Hot Rod, Motor
Trend, Car Craft, Chevy High Performance, Mopar Muscle and 5.0 Mustang, and
grow and strengthen relationships with pre-existing Petersen licensees, like
United Technical Institute. We can now offer drag racing enthusiasts
everything to feed their passion. They can participate at our drag racing
events, read about drag racing in our publications, see it on our TV shows and
finally they can experience the thrill of drag racing by training at the Frank
Hawley Drag Racing School. Our future plans for Hawley include establishing
additional schools and expanded curriculum throughout the country."
Frank Hawley, Founder and President of the Hawley school added, "This
partnership allows us to reach millions of racing enthusiasts, from the top
professionals to the amateur, who can learn about our programs and take
advantage of all the exciting drag racing opportunities available to them."
John Dianna, President of Petersen's Performance Automotive Group added,
"The addition of Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School brings important benefits
to our growing lists of automotive performance magazines, enabling us to build
upon our primary objectives ... the cultivation of entry level enthusiasts and
expanding the number of Frank Hawley Schools throughout the country. We will
be offering everything from grass roots how to drag race seminars, to
intensive three day driving classes as well as psychological, professional
drag racing tutoring. The Frank Hawley Drag Racing School will be second to
none, providing all levels of enthusiasts the true dynamics of drag racing."
EMAP Petersen, Inc. (http://www.petersenco.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of
EMAP plc (http://www.emap.com), one of the largest magazine publishing companies in
the world with 603 magazines, more than 6,000 employees worldwide, annual
revenues of approximately US$1.7 billion and a market capitalization of over
US$5 billion. In the U.S. Petersen's 160 publications deliver nearly
87 million readers, including nearly 64 million adults and over 22 million
teens. Petersen's internationally recognized magazines include MOTOR TREND,
HOT ROD, TEEN, SPORT, SLAM, SURFER, SNOWBOARDER, POWDER, SKATEBOARDER,
HUNTING, SKIN DIVER, PHOTOGRAPHIC, MOTORCYCLIST and 4-WHEEL & OFF-ROAD. In
addition to these titles, Petersen has more than 100 trade and consumer
events, including the GRAVITY GAMES(TM), which is the first in a series to be
aired on NBC Network in October 1999. EMAP's titles in the U.K. include MORE,
FHM, BLISS, SMASH HITS, YOURS, NEW WOMAN, CAR, MOTORCYCLE NEWS, PERFORMANCE
BIKES and Q, and TELE STAR, MODES & TRAVAUX, TOP SANTE, L'AUTO JOURNAL and
AUTO PLUS in France. Petersen is headquartered in Los Angeles and New York.
EMAP plc is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange.