A private equity firm in the US is combining the B2B events, exhibition and digital engagement portfolios, creating a single company with about 160 events.
There's major consolidation occurring in the B2B event space, as the private equity firm Apollo confirmed that Apollo-managed Funds has completed its acquisition of both Emerald and Questex. The companies' B2B event portfolios are now being combined, accounting for some 160 events across what Apollo describes as complementary vertical markets, a combination of the exhibitions Emerald is known for and the varied events and digital engagement lineup that has been part of Questex.
Emerald stockholders received US$5.03 per share, which is about a 42% premium to the company's latest share price and equates to a US$1.5 billion deal. Emerald is now a private company, joining Questex under Apollo's private ownership.
Apollo is one of the nation's largest private-equity firms, with a vast portfolio that includes the Venetian Las Vegas and The Travel Corporation.
Executive leadership named
Former Questex CEO Paul Miller has been named CEO of the combined company, and former Emerald CEO Hervé Sedky has become senior adviser. The following appointments have been announced as well:
Vince Dimaggio, CFO
Issa Jouaneh, COO
Kate Spellman, chief commercial officer
Kurt Nelson, chief talent officer
Sara Altschul, chief legal officer and company secretary
The companies will be fully integrated over the coming months.
B2B events for numerous sectors
Both Emerald and Questex have served a variety of industries. Emerald identifies its markets as design & construction; food, pharma & health care; gift, home & general merchandise; industrial & marketing; luxury; action sports; and tech, advertising & marketing. The company is known for large exhibitions such as the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and the CEDIA Expo, which serves the A/V integration market.
Questex defines its markets as life sciences, health & wellness; living, which includes residential and operational real estate, hospitality and destination-related sectors; and entertainment & infrastructure, which counts media, event design, networks and telecom among the sectors in that category. The company is known for such events as the Be + Well | Beauty and Wellness Show.
Betting on B2B events
The deal demonstrates Apollo's confidence in the events sector as well as an appetite for the mountains of data and subsequent insights that should result from such a merger. “As AI and digital tools rapidly expand the ways professionals connect and share information, they are simultaneously elevating the value of trusted, in-person gatherings, where industries come together to do business, build relationships and make consequential decisions,” said Shahid Bosan, managing director at Apollo.
Source: Northstar Meetings Group