100
“There has been
a change in the
geographical
make up of
acquisitions”
UK/USA
Emerging
90
Other
80
70
60
organisers. We already saw UBM sell a
number of exhibitions at the end of 2017 and
ITE sell its two Malaysian businesses plus
a chunk of its smaller Russia shows and we
know that Centaur intend to dispose of three
of its main exhibition divisions.
• At least one more PE firm will enter the
exhibition market, acquire a platform
business and embark on a buy and build
strategy.
• We will see an acquisition or investment
from a non-traditional business, probably
data-driven.
• Multiples will remain high, underpinned by
the private equity buyers.
It looks like 2019 will be another busy year
for M&A with no doubt a few surprises along
the way.
50
40
30
20
10
0
2014
11
2018
100
Deals
Buyers
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
exhibitionnews.co.uk | February 2019