Informa, one of the larger publishing, business intelligence, and exhibitions groups, agreed to acquire Ascential, a business-to-business media company, for £1.2bn. This would confirm the position of Informa as the largest events business globally and create significant revenue opportunities.
Sources close to the matter have said that Ascential has been presented with a buyout offer from Informa valuing the company at 17 times its 2023 earnings. Its board, which owns global conferences like the famous Cannes Lions festival and Money20/20, revealed that it had received a conditional proposal from Informa to acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of Ascential at 568 pence per share. It represents an approximate premium of about 53% to Monday's closing price.
It is considered a strategic step by Informa toward adding business-to-business events in its portfolio, as well as benefiting from the various strong brands and skills of Ascential in the industry. Stephen Carter, CEO of Informa, expressed clear interest in growing the two major events of Ascential: Lions and Money20/20, and exploiting new opportunities within that marketplace.
The events sector has bounced back strongly from the pandemic, going over pre-Covid levels as companies hastened back to in-person conferences and awards shows. Management at Informa has been busy growing the business through acquisitions, most recently buying events group Tarsus from Charterhouse Capital Partners for $940mn last year.
Their CEO, Philip Thomas, of Ascential, has always taken great pride in the company's brands and the people who work day and night to deliver for them. He adds that the acquisition will help in unlocking further growth opportunities for its brands and people by leveraging Informa's international footprint and deep capabilities in data and analytics.
The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval and is likely to close by the end of the year. Informa's shares have risen about 14% in the past year, valuing the business at a market capitalization of £11.3bn.
The transaction underlines the rising value of B2B events and strategic steps key industry players are taking toward portfolio expansion and getting a grip on new opportunities. Whereas this might lead to concerns over the concentration of ownership within the events sector, there's no denying that companies like Informa and Ascential are at the head of the line for a new wave of growth driven by in-person conferences and awards shows. It will be interesting to see how digitalization, experiential events, and data drive decisions as the sector plans for future growth.
Written by: Kobe Yip
Sources: Bloomberg, The Financial Times, Reuters
Comments