Tulsa, OK-based PennWell Corp., the parent company of LEDs Magazine, announced that it has acquired The LED Show conference and exhibition from founder James Highgate who will now serve as a consultant to PennWell. PennWell will hold the solid-state-lighting (SSL)-centric event in 2012 at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV from July 30 to August 1.

Highgate founded the conference in 2009, focused on lighting design and technology in the SSL segment of the lighting industry. The show has featured participants including leading LED manufacturers and the top SSL luminaire manufacturers, and is poised for growth in concert with the growing LED-lighting segment.

"This event provides a perfect opportunity to expand our editorial excellence, expert market intelligence, extensive promotion, and strong industry reputation to the lighting industry, " said Christine Shaw, senior vice president and group publisher of Pennwell's LEDs & Lighting Media Group. "With the addition of The LED Show, the full spectrum of the industry is uniquely represented in our franchise."

This past July, The LED Show attracted more than 3000 attendees and 87 exhibitors to the Las Vegas venue. The registrants included architects, electrical engineers, home builders, hotel engineers, and lighting designers – and came from all corners of the globe.

Shaw will manage The LED Show as part of the LEDs & Lighting Media Group that also includes LEDs Magazine; the Strategies Unlimited market research operations that's focused on photonics, LEDS, and lighting; and the Strategies in Light conference and exhibition series with events in the US, Japan, Europe, and China. The LEDs & Lighting Media Group is a part of PennWell's Technology Group based in Nashua, NH.

Highgate will help PennWell in its endeavor to grow the event. He said, "I am pleased that PennWell, as the world’s leading and most respected provider of information to the LEDs and lighting community, will further promote the development of our goals for the industry and enhance the event."