• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 4, 2016

Business-to-business media company Penton is expanding its footprint in the automotive technology marketplace with the acquisition of TU-Automotive, an events and digital information company focused on connected vehicles and the fast-growing Internet of things.

Penton acquired TU-Automotive from FC Business Intelligence, which was advised by JEGI and Clarity, both investment banks.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

TU-Automotive’s portfolio consists of 13 events around the world, including flagship events TU-Automotive Detroit, TU-Automotive Europe, TU-Automotive Japan,  The Consumer Telematics Show, and a publishing and communications hub at TU-Automotive online.

The company will join Penton’s Ground Transportation division, which also includes its WardsAuto properties.  

The acquisition bolsters Penton’s coverage of the key category of connected automobiles, as carmakers introduce new products and services using Internet connectivity in areas including communications, diagnostics and reporting, and autonomous vehicles.

Penton noted that many of these trends are even further advanced in commercial trucking, with connected devices helping improve fuel efficiency and determine optimal speed and brake usage.

Separately, Gartner forecasts that there will be over 250 million connected vehicle by 2020, with consumer spending on connected vehicle technology set to double over this period. 

Elsewhere in the B2B space, this week New Media Investment Group announced that it has acquired the Business Information Division of Dolan LLC for $35 million, in an all-cash transaction.

Previously New Media president and CEO Michael Reed noted: “In addition to the valuable content Dolan provides to its readership base, we believe their subscribers, which are predominately service-oriented business owners, are the ideal customer for our fast-growing digital services business, Propel Marketing.”

New Media was recently in the news for its sale of the Las Vegas Review-Journal to casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.