BowTie Acquires Kennel Club Books

Posted on May 21, 2004

BowTie, Inc. has completed its acquisition of Kennel Club Books, Inc., based in Allenhurst, New Jersey. Kennel Club Books is known for producing the world's largest series of dog breed books, as well as books related to other pets and animals. The new book division will work in collaboration with BowTie Press, the current book division of BowTie, Inc. The Kennel Club Books line will remain based in New Jersey as a division of BowTie, Inc. BowTie, Inc. is the parent company of Fancy Publications, a publisher of pet and animal magazines including such titles as Dog Fancy, Cat Fancy and Horse Illustrated.

"The current staff of Kennel Club Books will remain intact. We are delighted to have found a terrific staff to join our BowTie family," said Norman Ridker, Chairman of the Board, BowTie, Inc. "Kennel Club Books has a reputation of quality and a formula for producing well-respected, successful books. Their 200 plus titles complement BowTie Press's backlist of pet titles and add to our position as the leader in animal publications."

In addition to the titles currently published by Kennel Club Books in America, the company has published more than 130 books for distribution in England. The single-breed books serve as comprehensive owners' guides.

"Adding another quality publishing business strengthens our portfolio and accelerates the growth of our book division," said Doug Steil, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of BowTie, Inc. "This acquisition allows us to utilize our vast resources to propel the availability of product around the world. Kennel Club Books puts us in a strategic position for future growth."

Divisions of BowTie, Inc. include Fancy Publications, a leader in animal and pet-related trade and consumer magazines; BowTie Press, publisher of books and reference works; Global Distribution Services, a distributor of magazines and books to specialty retailer outlets; and Thoroughbred Times Company, the provider of racing coverage.