Our Story

Bobit Business Media was a family-run media powerhouse for 57 years, founded in 1961 by Ed Bobit with the launch of our flagship publication, Automotive Fleet. The company was acquired by Gemspring Capital in the fall of 2018, but its family-run business values remain.

Originally founded in Illinois, Ed moved the company to Southern California in 1977. “We had lived most of our lives in the Chicago area and really just wanted to experience winters without shoveling snow!” says Ed Bobit, who passed away in 2014.  The company became one of the strongest B-to-B media forces in the West and acquired several new titles.

In the mid-‘80s Bobit Business Media developed conferences and expositions, starting with the Limousine & Chauffeur Show, which continues to grow and earned Trade Show Executive’s Top 50 Fastest Growing Events distinction in 2017.

The company jumped into digital media with both feet in 1996 by setting up industry websites for all of its brands.  Employing an in-house team, Bobit Business Media websites are leaders in their markets.

“We’re continually diversifying the way we deliver information,” says Blake Bobit, digital sales manager and the founder’s grandson. The company currently produces 23 print titles, 42 websites, 24 e-newsletters, and 20 in-person events that meet specific markets’ need for knowledge, news, and networking.

Bobit Business Media employs more than 170 talented associates in areas such as editorial, audience marketing, ad sales, production, digital media, events, research, and accounting.  Its headquarters occupy 50,000 square feet in Torrance, Calif., and it has 30 regional offices throughout the United States.

Gemspring Capital is a private equity firm based in Westport, Conn., and specializes in lower middle-market companies.