Thoughts on CMP Acquisition of Black Hat

I just learned that CMP Media, publishers of IT magazines like Network Computing and IT Architect (formerly Network Magazine) just acquired Jeff Moss' Black Hat, Inc. for $10 million. I'm amazed that Black Hat went for that much. The organization may offer consulting, but it's mainly known for its conferences. Those conferences rely on instructors, none of whom are obligated to speak (as far as I know). Without any intellectual property, substantial workforce, or product lines, I'd say Black Hat did pretty well for itself!

I did not realize until now that CMP also owns the Computer Security Insitutute, who runs their own security conferences. The CSI conference is a strange beast. I wouldn't consider William Safire to be a "security expert," but there he is appearing as a keynote CSI speaker. Perhaps Black Hat is supposed to pull in another sort of demographic, one without as much gray hair?