Private equity
How would you describe Arc ? Arc was really trying to take the benefit of all my experience and trying to pick the best of what a buy and build organisation can be . I was very fascinated by PE and how you can create value , not just for the shareholders but for the business .
We grandly say we want to redefine the future of networking and focus on bringing businesses together , but the truth is we want to create value by creating scale , using the backing of PE partners , but also using the experience , knowledge and networks we ’ ve got to drive and help businesses grow .
UBM were a big machine , we bought businesses and plugged them in . On the other hand we had some businesses at Comexposium , where they just buy the business for the profit and then don ’ t do anything with it . I want to build something that ’ s somewhere between the two and benefits from the fact that we have knowledge , networks and understanding from all over the world to be able to do that .
I do want to do that with the learning that live events always have to be blended with online and digital .
Do you think you view the events industry differently from your current perspective to when you were in your previous post as CEO of Comexposium ? It ’ s probably fair to say my position hasn ’ t changed . Even before Covid-19 I was a big believer in digital as an enhancement to the offering , with particular focus on how we best leverage our data and insight , how we understand our audiences .
Our customers are now much more open to the value proposition . More open also to the fact that live events and media needs to be more targeted , not just getting 10,000 people in a room , but making sure we get the right people in .
Now as events open up seeing slightly smaller shows , smaller audiences , but the quality is better and that ’ s all about how you are betting implementing technology to create communities , and
Arc angel of equity
Since partnering with New York-based private equity firm EagleTree Capital , Simon Foster ’ s global events industry consortium Arc has acquired five B2B shows from Fortem International as well the Farmers Guardian and LAMMA from AgriBriefing . The former CEO at Comexposium and UBM , told EN he sees PE as a positive way to support the exhibitions industry in its recovery
how you ’ re better at integrating data and understanding the people you need to connect .
What qualities in events businesses are attractive to PE investors ? Prior to Covid-19 they were very robust , predictable , didn ’ t stop .
One of the big things I ’ ve seen over past couple of years is the appetite for our industry remains .
There ’ s plenty of people who want to invest . The way we book means you get very good visibility of the way it is going forward . It ’ s very cash positive , the risks are relatively balanced , most of the costs are flexible . The financial characteristics are very interesting from the perspective of PE , as it the ability to scale up .
Even with the mega-deal of Informa buying UBM the two biggest players of
26 — March