M & A
Buying community set for an active 2025
tarting this month ,
S and throughout 2025 , Grimes , McGovern & Associates , LLC ( GMA ) will be sharing knowledge , advice and trends on global mergers and acquisitions for the exhibition industry . GMA ’ s core business is advising independent organisers on the sale of their businesses and / or expos , conferences , hosted buyer events , other types of events and media properties .
Headquartered in New York City , GMA has offices in Atlanta , Los Angeles , South America and Hong Kong . With clients across the US , UK , Canada , Asia and South America , they are uniquely positioned to understand the global exhibition marketplace .
The GMA team is comprised of former owner-operators of events and related businesses they serve .
EW welcomed to our inner circle John McGovern , GMA CEO & owner , and asked what attracted him to first get into mergers and acquisitions ? JM : I worked in the licensing business and enjoyed the complex negotiations that are a key component of M & A . We went to trade shows , including COMDEX back in the late 80 ’ s when Microsoft Windows was launched . After that , I did some solo consulting for meeting and event companies in the late 90 ’ s and early 2000 ’ s .
Working in events M & A brought it all together ( complex negotiations , events , etc .). I ran the meetings and events group here for 15 years before acquiring the company from the Grimes family in 2018 .
Why M & A ? Presently I view my role at GMA in four ways : numbers and financials , negotiations , one part psychology and lastly , chasing business , whether it ’ s looking for a buyer or seller .
M & A will continue to be strong in 2025 . Last year we didn ’ t see a lot of ‘ platforms ’ or portfolio companies ( trade show organiser firms ) for sale but should in 2025 . In the bolt-on market ( individual events sold to a larger organiser ) – of the 30 or so deals which happened last year , Healthcare & Medicine events made up 43 %, including Pharma . That was followed by Tech , Finance and Real Estate / Facilities at 15 % each .
It ’ s not terribly surprising because these sectors track with the public markets . What it means for owner / operators is that there are plenty of opportunities in those and other
John McGovern , CEO and owner of GMA
industries to sell to larger organisers .
For event owners thinking about selling , today ’ s climate has an active buying community . During Covid there were times when we thought the market wouldn ’ t come back – which , fortunately , it has .
For owners of a show or event that ’ s not in one of the sectors listed above , it doesn ’ t mean your show or company isn ’ t marketable , it simply requires appropriate positioning within the buying market .
Independent event owners take a lot of personal risk , so I love and appreciate the mix of passion and creativity , as well as the story of how they became an event owner . They want to do a show , then they create one . It ’ s refreshing – there is a low barrier of entry and a high degree of entrepreneurial spirit .
I believe 2025 will be a continuation of the resurgence in events and media . It ’ s the ‘ Three C ’ s ’: Commerce , Community and Content . The new , business-friendly US administration will likely result in increased M & A activity , particularly from private equity ( PE ) firms . Sentiments across the board are high , with a renewed appetite for deal making . EW
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 1 2025 11