CCE Buys BBH Exhibits

Clear Channel Entertainment significantly grew its exhibitions business with its acquisition of BBH Exhibits (BBH), one of the world's leading producers of touring museum exhibits and family-oriented educational events.

Founded by Stacy King in 1992 and based in San Antonio, Texas, BBH's exhibits have attracted over 80 million attendees since its formation. The company is responsible for such widely acclaimed exhibits as Microbes: Invisible Invaders, Amazing Allies; The Robot Zoo; Extreme Deep: Mission to the Abyss; Africa: One Continent. Many Worlds.; The Lost Spacecraft: Liberty Bell 7 Recovered; and Brain: The World Inside Your Head, which opened this summer to record-setting attendance at the Smithsonian Institution. In December, the company will premier Chicano, a dual art and cultural expressions exhibition, produced in collaboration with actor/collector Cheech Marin, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and more than 30 contributing artists.

The combined resources of BBH and those of Clear Channel Entertainment's existing Exhibitions unit, including content development, infrastructure, production and touring capability, strong industry relationships and the promotional support of Clear Channel's Radio, Outdoor and other divisions, positions the combined companies for continued growth within the museum exhibitions category, and also for long-term leadership in the broader multi-billion dollar family entertainment industry.

Clear Channel Entertainment's Exhibitions Group is best known for producing and touring Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit, which has established attendance records at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, the Cincinnati Museum Center and Kansas City's Science City. In 2002, the division is scheduled to bring its four Titanic exhibits to seven locations, including a return to Chicago and a first appearance at Houston's Museum of Natural Science.

Existing Exhibitions Group staff will move from Aurora, Ohio, where it is currently headquartered, to BBH's 45,000 square-foot headquarters offices/plant facility in San Antonio, Texas. Moving forward, John Norman and Stacy King will serve as the unit's co-President/COO and co-President/CEO, respectively.

For the Clear Channel Entertainment, BBH provides depth of staff and facilities to support all phases of exhibit design, production and installation. BBH also has developed a well-established network of more than 250 museum partners, such as Boston's Museum of Science, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, the California Science Center in Los Angeles, Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris, and Papalote, Museo del Nino in Mexico City; collaborative relationships with a wide range of recognized institutional partners, such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the Smithsonian Institution; and a strong base of Fortune 500 corporate sponsor relationships. BBH is the co-founder and underwriter, along with the Association of Science-Technology Centers, of the annual international Award for Innovation.

"The acquisition of BBH Exhibits represents our commitment to capturing a substantial share of the Family Entertainment market, including exhibitions, large-scale events and other family-oriented education-based experiences," said Clear Channel Entertainment Chairman and CEO Brian Becker. "The exhibitions these combined companies create effectively serve the educational end of the family entertainment market. Stacy and her team havea proven record in creating exhibits that families want to experience."

Stacy King commented, "It has been rewarding building BBH to its current size and scope, and now is the right time to take the business to the next level, enriching our content capability and creating new and innovative ways for families to explore and discover and learn. Clear Channel Entertainment also gives us more marketing muscle and reach to get there. I am really looking forward to working with John and establishing Clear Channel Entertainment's Exhibitions unit as the leader in the industry."