T months with 21 transactions involving 13 different buyers and companies based in the UK , USA , China and Monaco . I don ’ t remember M & A being this busy for many years , certainly not since Covid . With the number of live processes at the moment , we can expect this trend to continue .

Head to my two recent Dealmaker columns in the EN newsletters for a detailed appraisal of all these transactions . In the meantime , there are a number of “ firsts ” to highlight :

Creation of a new division at Clarion . Clarion Events has acquired Eaton Hall , a US business running forums and summits for Bank Facilities , CopTech , Cop Fleet , Work Fleet , 911 Directors and Hospital Security based on highly targeted , pre-arranged , face-to-face meetings . Eaton Hall joins Quartz Network and Events , Consero Events and Connexa in a newly formed division – Clarion Connect , now the world ’ s largest organiser of 1-to-1 events , running over 80 events , summits , online networks and forums annually .

Creation of a new division at Raccoon . Raccoon Media has acquired the Pets & Aquatics Trade Show ( PATS ), the UK ’ s main trade event for the pets and aquatics sector , and BETA International , the UK ’ s leading equestrian and country trade fair . The two acquisitions join the National Equine Show in a newlyformed Animal Health Division to be headed up by Nicole Cooper , founder of Touchpoint Live Media .

First direct investment by Douglas Emslie . Separate from his role as chairman of Raccoon , Emslie has directly acquired a minority stake in travel media specialists Jacobs Media , which is a £ 20m revenue business with 50 % of the revenue coming from 160 global events and exhibitions , including the Globe Travel Awards and Agent Achievement Awards . The rest of the portfolio is a combination of multimedia brands such as Travel Weekly and The Caterer as well as a travel club , a luxury travel private community and online travel training .

First acquisition of a UK venue by Excel . The Business Design Centre ( BDC ) in London , founded by the Morris family 40 years ago and still owned after all these years by the family , has been acquired by Excel London , making this their second UK venue and the fourth overall ( with ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi and ADNEC Centre Al Ain ) run by Excel ’ s owners the ADNEC Group . EW

Transactions in the current period ( October & November 2024 )

Buyer Business Sector Country Informa IMN Real Estate USA

Informa

CloserStill Media

Vidcon

Top Marques

PNE

Content Creation

Healthcare & Education

CloserStill Media 100 % Optical Optical UK

USA

Emerald Glamping Show Outdoors USA Emerald GRC World Forums Risk UK Clarion Events Infocast Energy USA Clarion Events Eaton Hall Various USA Raccoon Media Group PATS Pets UK Raccoon Media Group BETA International Equestrian UK Globus China Pet Expo Pets China

Globus PM China / IACE China

Advance Engineering

Pendigo Events BoatLife Boats UK

Pendigo Events

European Fitness League

Fitness

China

Hyve HLTH Healthcare USA Endeavour ProBuilder Show Village Construction USA Mark Allen Group Sixth Continent Travel Retail UK Douglas Emslie Jacobs Media ( stake ) Travel UK InfraXmedia Data Center Nation Tech UK Excel London Business Design Centre Venue UK

www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 6 2024 11

EW Issue 6 2024 | Page 11

Dealmakers

T months with 21 transactions involving 13 different buyers and companies based in the UK , USA , China and Monaco . I don ’ t remember M & A being this busy for many years , certainly not since Covid . With the number of live processes at the moment , we can expect this trend to continue .