Private equity ( PE ) has been a market-shaping force in the exhibition industry . With a typical investment cycle of three to five years , PE-backed platforms bring discipline to the art of growing shows and consolidating them into market-leading portfolios .
One reason business owners choose to sell to PE-backed buyers is that those platforms are led by fellow entrepreneurs who speak their language , are interested in their products and get excited about their growth story . It ’ s important to remember that behind those management teams are financial investors who have very specific criteria and a defined operating model .
PE investors themselves have shown renewed commitment to exhibitions , particularly trade shows , during and since the pandemic . Exhibition businesses tend to have attractive cashflow profiles and ( largely based on onsite rebook ) quality of earnings , and that offsets any increased risk from a pandemic .
Another positive sign is the growth of newer PEbacked platforms such as Arc Network , Nineteen Group and RoarB2B - and we expect to see increased dealflow from these new entrants as well as renewed activity by the majors - Clarion , CloserStill , Tarsus and others .
[ Collingwood recently advised Netherlands-based vegan protein platform Bridge2Food on their recent investment partnership with Simon Foster ’ s consortium Arc .]
There was real concern
When Private Equity Calls
Piers Bearne , founder of Collingwood Advisory , the scaleup , value creation and corporate finance platform for the events and media industry and Collingwood Advisory ’ s senior adviser for corporate finance Dominic Bolton look at the M & A landscape and say timing , alignment and rollover are crucial
Dominic Bolton
during Covid-19 that valuation multiples would drop materially for exhibition-led businesses . We
“ If you ’ re thinking about selling to a PE platform , it ’ s wise to get to know their model , the synergies and their investment horizons ”
Piers Bearne
have seen headline valuations hold up well , although early data suggests that smaller events assets are not reaching
08 — June