National Lampoon Gets New Owners

Posted on March 7, 2001

Four Leaf Management, LLC announced that its managing partner Daniel S. Laikin has signed an agreement to acquire all of the shares of J2 Communications owned by Jim Jimirro, J2's president and Chief Executive Officer. Under the terms of the agreement, Jimirro will step down as president and CEO and the name of the company will be changed to National Lampoon. The deal, which is subject to due diligence and financing contingencies, is scheduled to close within 90 days.

``National Lampoon is one of the biggest and most beloved comedy brands of all times,'' said Laikin, currently a National Lampoon board member. ``New Management is poised to immediately begin negotiating new production deals with some of the most renowned names in the entertainment industry. We intend to expand the National Lampoon footprint into film, television, radio, DVD, CD-ROM, Web syndication and book publishing. We also will continue to build on the products that the public knows and loves - hits such as Animal House and the Vacation movies.''

The deal also provides for Laikin and other executives to purchase additional shares directly from National Lampoon, and, under certain circumstances, to make a tender offer for the purchase of all outstanding shares of the company. Underscoring National Lampoon's intention to develop new entertainment products, Laikin also announced that Errol Gerson, former director of New Media for Creative Artists Agency, will join National Lampoon's Board of Directors.

``National Lampoon once again will become the place for up-and-coming comedians, writers and artists to gather and create something beautiful, or just really, really funny,'' Gerson said. ``I am extremely pleased to be a part of the team that will ensure that National Lampoon will be making people laugh for generations to come.''

In the 1970s the National Lampoon was known for irreverent, offbeat and somewhat highbrow humor. Renowned for its magazine, Lampoon also had a loyal following for its many media ventures, including live shows, radio and specialty books. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the Lampoon gained notoriety for its forays into motion picture films, first with National Lampoon's Animal House and later with the National Lampoon's Vacation series. In the 1990s, National Lampoon was largely absent, except for a limited number of lower budget films, made mostly for cable.