Advanstar Comm. seeks buyer for remainder of assets.

Advanstar Communications (New York) has retained Credit Suisse First Boston and is now exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the whole company. The new action follows Advanstar's May sale of its Information Technology, Travel & Hospitality, Beauty, Home Entertainment, Abilities and Portfolio groups to Questex Media Group for $185 million. Advanstar is owned by DLJ Banking Partners III, a fund managed by Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity (New York).

Advanstar currently operates eight main units that generated about $275 million in revenue in 2004. The Fashion division produces the MAGIC shows for the fashion and apparel industries while the License unit produces "License," "License Europe" magazines and two trade shows. The Powersports/ Automotive unit is comprised of seven magazines, including "Aftermarket Business," "Motor Age" and "DealerNews," and produces related expositions, conferences and web sites. Advanstar Medical Economics (Montvale, NJ) publishes 16 medical titles, including "Medical Economics," "Patient Care," "Contemporary OB/GYN" and "Drug Topics," while the company's Science division publishes "LCGC" editions for North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, "Spectroscopy" and related buyer's guides and directories.

Advanstar's Dental unit produces four titles, including "Dental Lab Products," "Dental Practice Report," "Dental Products Report" and "Dental Products Report Europe," and the Veterinary group publishes three magazines, including "DVM," "Veterinary Economics" and "Veterinary Medicine." Finally, the company's Pharmaceutical division publishes eight titles, including "Applied Clinical Trials," "Pharmaceutical Executive" and "BioPharm International," and produces related conferences and forums. The division also includes the Institute of Validation Technology (Duluth, MN), the publisher of "Journal of Validation Technology," "Journal of GXP Compliance," videos and conferences.