Double digit deals
Steve Monnington of Mayfield Merger Strategies rounds up the last month ’ s mergers and acquisitions and sees a flurry of activity
Exhibition acquisitions are well and truly back . Since my last column there have been 14 transactions announced involving 12 different buyers . Let ’ s start with the UK .
Arc In my last column I covered Arc ’ s acquisition of part of Incisive Media – their third acquisition since the business was formed by Simon Foster and backed by EagleTree and Canson Capital Partners in May last year . Arc ’ s 4th and most recent deal is Bridge2Food , a membership and events business in the plant-based food and proteins industry . The business is based in Holland , so their first in mainland Europe , with a network of over 10,000 business and technical experts in the food industry . Increasingly , acquisitions are becoming more about data and communities rather than traditional tradeshows .
Clarion In another acquisition which combines physical and digital , Clarion have acquired Digital Insurance Agenda ( DIA ), a European event series serving the insurtech market with festivals in Barcelona , Amsterdam and Munich together with content platforms that include DIA TV . This is a synergistic addition to InsureTech Connect , a Las Vegas based event which was acquired by Clarion in 2019 and which has been geocloned into Singapore .
Nineteen Group One company that is sticking to the tradeshow model is Nineteen Group has acquired the Hennik Group , organisers of Digital Manufacturing Week and Smart Factory Expo . They also publish The Manufacturer . Their portfolio also includes summits , virtual events and industry awards . Hennik Group was founded by Nick Hussey and Henry Anson and is a logical addition to the Nineteen portfolio having launched Engineering and Manufacturing Week earlier this year .
Mark Allen Group Mark Allen Group have notched up their 24th acquisition in 10 years with the acquisition of Heelec , organiser of EMEX , the net zero and energy management exhibition . EMEX was founded in 2013 by Jason Franks and Liberal Democrat peer , Lord Redesdale and is particularly relevant to the current massive increase in energy costs that
companies are facing . It follows the interest generated by the United Nations Climate Change Conference , Cop 26 , which was held last year in Glasgow . Earlier this year Mark Allen Group acquired Regen , the regeneration event held in Liverpool .
Europe Moving into mainland Europe , Italian Exhibition Group ( IEG ), through has acquired 75 % of V Group , organiser of the Myplant & Garden exhibition for the horticultural-floricultural and gardening sector . The show was launched in 2015 and the acquisition is aimed at both consolidating the shows ’ status as leader in the Italian market as well as opening up opportunities for launch internationally . IEG was formed in 2016 through the merger of the Rimini and Vicenza fairgrounds and , as well as Italy , operates in Mexico , Brazil , Dubai and China .
AFAG Nuremberg-based trade fair organiser AFAG has acquired NETCOMM ,
08 — July