Hyve Group, headquartered in London. has presence around the globe including in China, India, the UAE and the US.
Hellman & Friedman (H&F) has agreed to acquire global events organiser Hyve Group. Expected to complete by the end of 2026, the transaction will see H&F acquire Hyve from Providence Equity Partners and Searchlight Capital Partners, which took the company private three years ago.
Reportedly, the deal is valued at £1.3 billion (US$1.8 billion), set to deliver a threefold return on investment for the outgoing owners.
Hyve is believed to be the world’s eighth-largest event organiser, operating 31 events across 18 brands spanning sectors including edtech, fintech, healthcare, ecommerce, supply chain and martech. The London-headquartered company has presence in Shanghai, the US, India, the UAE, Netherlands, and other markets around the world.
The acquisition comes as Hyve reports strong financial momentum, having delivered three consecutive years of double-digit organic revenue growth and expanded EBITDA beyond US$100 million.
The company said it is also on track to achieve its three-year “GO27” growth and optimisation strategy a year ahead of schedule.
Over the past three years, the company completed seven acquisitions and launched five new events, while investing in technology-enabled services including matchmaking, membership and year-round content platforms, according to Andrew Tisdale, vice chairman and Robert Sudo, managing director at Providence.
Under the new ownership, Hyve plans to accelerate international launches, expand adjacent products and services, and continue pursuing acquisitions in high-growth sectors and markets.
Hyve CEO Mark Shashoua expects the partnership with H&F would support the company’s next phase of growth as demand increases for “deeper ecosystems” around major industries.
Hunter Philbrick, partner, Hellman & Friedman, sees opportunities in face-to-face events with the advent of AI, and describes Hyve’s portfolio as “execptional”. He said: “As AI reshapes global commerce, we believe the ability to foster human connections and bring people together will be more valuable to businesses than ever. Our investment in Hyve is driven by our deep conviction that this will be one of the defining megatrends in the years ahead.
“We believe Hyve has built an exceptional platform to capture this opportunity – a portfolio of irreplaceable commercial moments, powered by AI-driven matchmaking that turns a physical gathering into a year-round ecosystem.”