M & A

With UFI’ s Global Congress taking place in Hong Kong this November, we asked John Donnelly, director, Asia / Pacific for Grimes, McGovern & Associates, for an M & A update on the region

EW – Asia is large, with many different cultures and languages. What are the differences between the European / US and Asia event markets? There are 30 + countries in Asia and 60 % of the global population. The event market reflects that. The Japanese event market is both large and distinct compared with the rest of Asia. China has six of the ten largest convention centres / fairgrounds in the world. They have an experienced exhibition market with Western-style, mega-international expos, such as the Shanghai Auto Show, BAUMA China, etc. unlike smaller APAC countries. Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines have developing events industries with comparatively smaller shows. The exhibitor composition and economic model must be adapted to local circumstances for success.

Long term, it’ s worth supporting markets that will continue to grow over the next decade or two.

EW – Private Equity Firms( PE) are the biggest buyers of exhibitions in the West. Is it the same for Asia? If not, who are the buyers? Large, international PE backed organisers are actively buying in the region, especially if they already have a footprint here. Family businesses are also buyers.

There are two reasons for M & A in events and media in APAC: 1. Large international companies like Informa, Hyve, and Terrapinn are buying instead of building new divisions – if they can find the right company in the target country. 2. It’ s a consolidation play with buyers purchasing competitors. We’ re seeing that quite a bit in Australia.

Context Company Buyer Deal Date German Company, Indian Buyer Morressier Molecular Connections 29.1.25 New Zealand Company, US Buyer The Conference Company Uno Loco Group 7.3.25 Indian Company, Indian Buyer Haymarket SAC Spinny 20.3.25 Indian Company, UK Buyer Hyve India Informa 24.4.25 Chinese Company, French Buyer

Malaysian Company, Malaysian Buyer Tastefully Malaysia Catcha Digital 18.6.25 Australian Company, UK Buyer Digital Health Festival Terrapinn 1.9.25

Generally, the Asian M & A landscape is opaque. Companies don’ t readily share information. Discovering what PEs are doing can be challenging.

EW – What are some newsworthy deals in the region? JTB Corporation buying Northstar is what everyone’ s talking about because it’ s a Japanese travel company buying a US media and events company. Industry pundits believe it’ s to use the Northstar global connections and data to grow the travel side of the business. Though Nikkei buying FT was also an outlier of a deal in 2015, the Northstar one surprised most people.

M & A activity in Asia has been quiet so far in 2025, with not nearly as many transactions as in the West. The few that have are private or strategic. According to our research, there were seven M & A deals in Asia this year, compared to 35 + in the rest of the world

EW – Are you seeing any trends with business events and expos? We expect many Asian countries to grow faster than the G-20 next year. As a result of that growth, the events and expos business will be attractive. Global trends take longer to be adopted in Asia. For example, the Hosted Buyer model is in its early days and will grow as the model is adapted for the market.

GMA remains committed to the APAC region and believes it will offer growth opportunities in the coming years above what can be expected in North America and Europe. EW

n Grimes, McGovern & Associates is a leading lower middle-market Mergers & Acquisitions firm advising media, events, and information services businesses globally. www. exhibitionworld. co. uk Issue 5 2025 27