Paddock's Town Square Publications acquires rival Village Profile

The suburban Town Square Publications LLC has acquired one of its primary competitors, Elgin-based Village Profile, in a deal that was announced shortly after the closing Friday to the staff of Paddock Publications, which owns Town Square.

Paddock, which also owns the Daily Herald, created its Town Square subsidiary after entering the chamber of commerce specialty publications business four years ago. In those years, Village Profile had been Town Square's chief competitor in publishing chamber community guides and other chamber print and digital publications.

"The Village Profile acquisition is in keeping with the strategic plan to grow Paddock's business in new and different ways," said Douglas K. Ray, chairman, CEO, president and publisher. "The decision to expand into the nondaily newspaper business has proved to be an excellent one, as the company's niche divisions are contributing nicely to the overall revenue and profitability of Paddock Publications."

Initially focused exclusively on the suburbs, Town Square has expanded more recently into Chicago, Wisconsin, the upper Midwest and California. Currently, it has contracts with 50 chambers of commerce.

"The acquisition accelerates our growth in this area," Ray said in a memo to Paddock's staff, "and establishes a nationwide footprint."

Village Profile provides more than 100 added relationships with chambers across the country, said Scott Stone, president of Town Square and Paddock's chief operating officer.

"The synergies and Village Profile relationships will serve us well as we move into this nontraditional marketing area," Stone said.