NEWS
THE DEALMAKER
Steve Monnington of Mayfield Media Strategies runs the rule
over the latest global exhibition deals
M
10
&A activity this month continues
to underline the increasing
influence of private equity in the
exhibition sector. More PE firms are acquiring
privately owned exhibition businesses and
those businesses that are already owned by PE
generally sell to another PE firm, rather than
to a trade show organiser, when it’s time for
them to exit.
The purchase of a majority stake in
Nineteen Events by Phoenix Equity Partners
is a good example of PE influence and the
potential rewards for entrepreneurs. In the
past, Nineteen has created events which have
been sold on to other organisers – Niche
Events, the previous incarnation of Nineteen
and organiser of Counter Terrorism Expo
was sold to Clarion in 2012 and CCR
(Clinical Cosmetic & Reconstructive) was
sold to Easyfairs in 2016. Rather than sell
International Security Expo, founder Peter
Jones opted to go the PE route. This has
allowed him to unlock capital value and for
Nineteen to simultaneously make its first
acquisition, Western Business Exhibitions,
which also organises security shows.
Phoenix Equity has experience in funding
the expansion of exhibition organisers, having
acquired CloserStill Media in 2012 and sold
to Inflexion Private Equity in 2015, and has
made additional acquisition capital available
to Nineteen.
When the PE partner of a large exhibition
organiser decides that it’s time to exit, the
question is whether they will sell on to
another financial institution, a trade buyer
or opt for a stock market flotation. Ascential
went through this process in early 2016 and
decided that their ROI would be maximised
with a UK listing. Choosing a different
route, Charterhouse Capital Partners, which
invested in Comexposium in 2015, has opted
to sell its stake to Credit Agricole Assurances
for a multiple thought to be as high as 15x.
Comexposium chose Charterhouse as 50 per
cent shareholder as it felt that an international
shareholder would help drive expansion of
the business outside France. As it will become
entirely French-owned again (the other
shareholder is the Paris chamber of commerce)
it will be interesting to see if the organiser
continues to pursue international expansion.
The USA also saw another PE entrant,
with Gemspring Capital acquiring the assets
of Bobit Business Media, previously a family
owned company founded in 1961 with the
launch of Automotive Fleet magazine. Bobit
has remained true to its roots and now has a
portfolio of magazines, websites and around
20 live events, primarily in automotive and
transport.
We finish this month with two deals that
don’t involve private equity.
Diversified Communication’s acquisition
of Digital Construction Week from the
founders Luke Collings and Oliver Hughes.
DCW was launched in 2015 and will be part
of a portfolio of events that includes GEO
Business. Messe Frankfurt has reached an
agreement to acquire The Clean Show in the
USA – a peripatetic biennial show dedicated
to textile care. Messe Frankfurt organises
Texcare International in Frankfurt and several
other texcare events in China, India and
Russia.
At the time of going to press, there are
a couple of large transactions still to be
announced for 2018, which could further
increase PE involvement in the sector there
are also a few to look forward to in the first
quarter of 2019 including the events division
of Centaur Media which recently announced
its intention to sell the Business Travel Show,
The Meetings Show, Sub Con and Employee
Benefits exhibitions as well as the rumoured
sale by Clarion of the publishing assets of
Pennwell, which it acquired in March 2018.
I N T E R N AT I O N A L N E W S
CLOSERSTILL TO LAUNCH VET SHOW IN
SINGAPORE MESSE FRANKFURT TAKES OVER CLEAN
SHOW REED ANNOUNCES JOINT VENTURE WITH
SHANGHAI FOREVER
CloserStill Media has announced it will
launch vet show Singapore Vet at the Suntec
City Convention and Exhibition Centre,
Singapore, on 11–12 October 2019.
Riding on the success of the London Vet
Show’s 10-year history, the two-day exhibition
will serve as a platform for thousands of
veterinary professionals in the Asia Pacific
region. They can gain CE-accredited
veterinary education, and learn from
hundreds of regional and local leading
suppliers.
Expert veterinary leaders will share their
expertise through insightful conference
sessions, and provide clinicians with relevant
knowledge that can be put into practice Messe Frankfurt has finalised a deal with the
Clean Show executive committee to purchase
the largest trade fair for textile care in the
Western Hemisphere.
The Clean Show is held every two years,
rotating throughout the US.
As part of the acquisition, the five industry
associations that are involved in the sale (the
Drycleaning & Laundry Institute, TRSA, the
Coin Laundry Association, the Association for
Linen Management and the Textile Care Allied
Trades Association) will maintain their close
involvement.
The first edition as part of the Messe
Frankfurt portfolio of textile care fairs will be
held in New Orleans, on 20-23 June 2019. Reed Exhibitions has announced a new joint
venture with the Shanghai Forever Exhibition.
The new company, Reed Exhibitions Hengjin,
will manage the Automotive Manufacturing
Technology & Material Show, China’s leading
trade event in automotive engineering, as
well as the co-located Assembly & Handling
Technology Exhibition.
Reed Exhibitions Hengjin will also run a
series of related conferences and seminars
across China throughout the year, covering
the various automotive engineering and
industrial assembly hubs.
Combined, AMTS and AHTE reached around
100,000sqm and hosted more than 77,000
professional trade visitors in 2018.
January 2019 | exhibitionnews.co.uk