The world’s biggest exhibitions organiser is snapping up a leading independent rival and going its separate way from academic arm Taylor & Francis.
Informa’s £2.24 billion (US$2.97 billion) acquisition of Clarion Events is set to further consolidate the global B2B exhibitions market, bringing one of the industry’s largest independent organisers into the world’s biggest exhibitions group.
The deal folds more than 100 Clarion brands into Informa, including IFA Berlin, defence and security exhibition DSEI, gaming event ICE Barcelona, DISTRIBUTECH and ITC Vegas.
Upon completion of the Clarion deal, Informa expects its combined B2B events operation will generate more than £4.2 billion in annual revenue across about 1,000 specialist brands, more than 40 market categories and over 30 countries.
Clarion will give Informa immediate weight in electronics, defence and security and gaming through, while deepening its positions in technology and energy. It also adds a portfolio that can be pushed into markets where Informa already has distribution, sales teams and venue relationships – particularly India, the Middle East and Africa – while Informa’s data and digital systems can be applied across Clarion’s communities.
Informa is paying 11.1 times Clarion’s expected 2027 EBITDA, falling to about nine times after £50 million of forecast annual cost savings. It also expects £25 million of additional operating profit from revenue initiatives by 2029.
The purchase will be backed by acquisition financing and an equity raise of roughly £940 million, while Informa pauses its share buyback.
Consolidation, competition and choice
Clarion was already ranked among the largest organisers of B2B live events and the leading privately owned operator. Folded into an Informa exhibitions business that was already more than twice the size of its nearest rival by revenue, the deal has implications on concentration, competition and choice in the industry.
Among the Clarion portfolio are eight Marquee brands (revenue US$30m+) and eight Power Brands (US$10million to US$30million). The acquisition will hence take Informa’s portfolio of Marquee/Power Brands to more than 100.
“The combination of Clarion’s 100+ brands with Informa’s B2B platform creates significant opportunities to deliver cost and revenue synergies, with a particular focus on the international syndication and geo-adaptation of brands, cross-marketing and broader One Informa growth initiatives including lead generation, non-endemic sponsorship, digital/data services, and hotel / city partnerships,” Informa said in a statement.
On the flip side are questions of how much choice will remain when the industry’s most powerful marketplace owner gets bigger. Informa and Clarion portfolios overlap in sectors such as technology and energy. When one organiser controls must-attend exhibitions across several setors, large exhibitors may gain reach while losing negotiating leverage. Smaller suppliers could face tougher choices over stand rates, sponsorship packages and access to premium audience data.
The B2B double-down
The acquisition lands alongside Informa’s plan to separate its academic arm Taylor & Francis, leaving a more focused B2B group.
Stephen Carter, group chief executive, Informa, commented: “Informa is today accelerating the focus on our core B2B business, as we announce plans to separate our Academic Markets business, Taylor & Francis.”
“Today’s announcements mark the latest step in a growth strategy that has seen B2B revenues grow tenfold since 2014, whilst generating more than US$3 billion of value in Business Intelligence and lifting Taylor & Francis revenues fourfold since it joined the Group,” he added.
With Taylor & Francis approaching US$1 billion in revenue, and with its Open Research capabilities now established, Carter says the academic arm will benefit from greater flexibility through the next phase of its development.