Connect Media, Nation’s Leading Commercial Real Estate News Platform, Acquires Networld, Expanding Firm’s B2B Media and Conference Platforms

LOS ANGELES & LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 2, 2026--

Connect Media, a privately held media company based in Los Angeles, and the nation’s largest provider of commercial real estate news, acquired Networld Media Group, a Louisville, Kentucky-based business-to-business media company delivering industry news and conferences for the restaurant, retail, banking and technology sectors, effective January 30, 2026. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260202651424/en/

Connect Media operates across multiple business lines, including B2B news, conferences, and full-service creative and agency services, primarily serving the commercial real estate, financial, and capital markets sectors. The acquisition of Networld expands Connect Media’s footprint into adjacent and complementary industries, while strengthening its overall media and events platform. The combination allows both organizations to leverage shared operational models, content expertise, and audience development strategies.

Connect Media will absorb Networld’s team, growing its overall team to more than 60 employees, as well as the majority of its family of websites, events, podcasts and industry awards programs. Following the close of the transaction, Connect Media’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Ceniceros, will serve as CEO of the combined company.

“This acquisition represents a strategic opportunity to grow across complementary business lines that share a similar operating DNA,” said Ceniceros. “Both Connect and Networld are built on high-quality journalism, industry-leading conferences, and strong industry relationships. Bringing these platforms together creates a powerful opportunity to accelerate growth, share best practices, and introduce expanded creative and agency services that complement and enhance Networld’s current capabilities—ultimately delivering greater value to our audiences and partners, as both individual investors and institutions seek information to grow, while building communities.”

“After meeting Daniel and learning more about his company, it became clear that Connect Media was the right partner to shape Networld’s next chapter,” said Tom Harper, cofounder and executive chairman of Networld, who will remain with the company in an advisory role. “Our companies have strengths in different areas and I’m excited to see the future our combined teams will create.”

Networld’s portfolio includes:

Online news:

Conferences & Events

The acquisition continues Connect Media’s growth strategy through selective investments in platforms that align with its media, technology, and client services ecosystem. Connect Media has previously acquired multifamily listing platform ApartmentBuildings.com and AI-powered lending information platform LOANtuitive.

CapM Advisors acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Networld Media Group in this transaction.

About Connect Media

Connect Media is a privately held media company based in Los Angeles, operating across business-to-business news, conferences, and creative services. The company serves audiences and clients in commercial real estate, finance, and capital markets, with a focus on high-quality content, live events, and integrated marketing solutions. www.connect.media

About Networld Media Group

Networld is a Louisville, Kentucky-based media company founded in 2000 that provides news, events, and industry insights across the restaurant, retail, banking, and self-service technology markets. www.networldmediagroup.com

Tom Harper, cofounder and executive chair of Networld

Daniel Ceniceros, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Connect Media

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications, according to a statement released by his family.

Dakota Hunter, vice president of Kyle Busch Companies, said in a news release the family received the medical evaluation on Saturday.

Busch, a two-time NASCAR champion, died at 41 on Thursday, a day after passing out in a Chevrolet simulator.

Sepsis is considered a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body has an extreme, overactive response to an infection, causing the immune system to damage its own tissues and organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Typically the immune system releases chemicals to fight off pathogens like bacteria, viruses or fungi, but with sepsis the response goes into overdrive. The results can cause widespread inflammation, form microscopic blood clots and make blood vessels leak.

Busch was thought to have had a sinus cold while racing at Watkins Glen on May 10 and radioed in to his team saying that he needed a “shot” from a doctor after the race.

However, he bounced back to win the Trucks Series race at Dover last weekend, and then he finished 17th in the All-Star race on Sunday.

Busch, who was preparing to race Sunday at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

During the emergency call placed late that afternoon, an unidentified caller calmly told the dispatch: “I’ve got an individual that’s (got) shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out, and is producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood.”

The caller said Busch was lying on the bathroom floor inside the complex and told dispatch “he is awake,” according to audio provided by the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office. The man then gave directions on where emergency responders should go and asked that they turn off any sirens upon arrival.

NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski said he knew Busch wasn’t feeling well recently.

“Yes, but I won’t go into any specifics," Keselowski said. “But then when he ran the Truck race last week, those (thoughts) were honestly kind of erased in my mind.”

Keselowski said running multiple races on the same weekend can be difficult on a driver's health — but most don't want to miss a race for fear of being replaced.

“There’s no shortage of drivers that would love to take my seat or anybody else’s seat if we weren’t feeling well, and I think every driver feels that pressure,” Keselowski said. “All athletes do. It’s not unique to NASCAR in that sense. We’re all thinking to ourselves, ‘I don’t wanna be replaced.’ ... So you try to power through it the best you can."

Busch won 234 races across NASCAR’s top three series over his two-decade career, more than any driver in history.

All 39 drivers in the field for Sunday’s race will race with a black No. 8 decal on their car to honor Busch.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

An in memoriam photo of former driver Kyle Busch is displayed on the video board of the backstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

FILE - Kyle Busch waits for the start of a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race Saturday, June 19, 2021, in Lebanon, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)