WTWH Media Expands Healthcare Portfolio with Autism Investor Summit Acquisition
By: Haniya Rae
In mid-September, WTWH announced that it acquired the Autism Investor Summit from Jade Health, which deepens WTWH’s healthcare portfolio.
“We launched our Autism Business Newsletter earlier this year because we think that segment of the behavioral health market is very interesting,” George Yedinak, CRO of WTWH Media, and former co-founder of Aging Media Network, told AMO. It’s also an underserved market in terms of clinical help for patients and news and information about changes in the space.
WTWH has been on a buying spree since Mountaingate Capital acquired it in early 2023. It acquired Aging Media in July 2023. It has since acquired HME Business and Mobility Management in September 2023, which fits within the company’s strategic move into healthcare, Engineering.com in December 2023, and CFE Media in May 2024. WTWH’s four main coverage areas include Design Engineering/Robotics/R&D, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Retail/Hospitality/Food Services, and Renewable Energy.
Autism and the therapies associated with it is one of several behavioral health industries expected to grow by billions in the next decade. The industry for autism therapies currently generates between $4 and 7 billion dollars a year, with pharmaceutical giants and investment firms backing large amounts of research for treatments. In other words, it’s a good time to be writing content about big movers within the autism space.
Autism Investor Summit, acquired from Jade Health, serves executives, legislators, and key decision makers within the behavioral health space. The acquisition broadens WTWH’s audience reach for its Behavioral Health Business publication and its Autism Business News newsletter. WTWH declined to share terms of the acquisition.
Yedinak described the acquisition as one that came out of mutual respect for Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE)’s dedication to the autism space and work to build it out. (BHCOE is a segment of Jade Health.) “We are looking for assets in both the events space and in digital media that fit well within each of the segments of WTWH’s business,” said Yedinak. “We want to be very thoughtful in what we look at. We want to buy the right assets that have adjacencies that can help us grow faster.”
This is where the Autism Investor Summit comes in. Acquiring an event that already served the same market meant it was a perfect match without having to spend time and resources to develop or compete with a similar product elsewhere.
The deal doesn’t include employees or physical assets, which makes the acquisition relatively smooth. The 2025 event has already been scheduled, so Yedinak doesn’t plan to do much with it until 2026. “We want to sprinkle our magic dust where we think we can add value,” said Yedinak. “We can expand the event and the brand into 2026.”
This also leaves WTWH to continue acquiring businesses at a clip in the next year and beyond to fill out the broader portfolio.
“Specifically with the healthcare area, we’re looking at opportunities that fit well with the brands that we have within our growth plans,” said Yedinak. The WTWH team is looking specifically for spaces with growth and complexity, like niche healthcare topics. “That’s why we continue to like that area of the market.”
