paper and have created the beginnings of a business that focuses on food , agriculture , finance and sustainability and the businesses have been acquired for their management teams and because they represent focused communities that information and connections can be delivered to , through a variety of channels .
Building an arc
Steve Monnington of Mayfield Merger Strategies rounds up this month ’ s M & A activity
It ’ s 16 months since Simon Foster announced that he had secured financial backing from EagleTree Capital for his new global events business , Arc , and just over a year since they made their first acquisition – Farmers Guardian and the Lamma trade exhibition for agriculture machinery . They recently announced their 5th acquisition ( and their first in the USA ), again in the agriculture sector in a move that brings their total headcount worldwide to 240 people .
HighQuest HighQuest runs a series of agriculture investment conferences in New York , Tokyo and London for investors , fund and farmland managers and agribusiness executives as well as a membership platform for Women in Agriculture as well as producing research for the sector .
In between these two transactions there have been three other acquisitions - Farm Business Innovation exhibition , the financial services and business sustainability portfolios of Incisive Media and Bridge2Food for the plant-based foods and alternative proteins sector .
Arc started with a blank piece of dmg events Not an acquisition but a very interesting strategic move from dmg events who , post-covid , are driving forward with a significant programme of launches especially in Saudi Arabia which is fast becoming a key geography for them . dmg has formed a joint venture – ostensibly 50 / 50 – with the Dubai World Trade Centre ( DWTC ) for the joint launch of several shows initially in Food , Hospitality and Interiors . The JV name is Kaoun and the thinking is to harness the strength of DWTC ’ s key brands and combine them with dmg ’ s “ boots on the ground ’ to create a series of new events in Saudi which can then be spun out into other countries such as South Africa , Nigeria and Egypt .
The first joint event will be The Saudi Food & Beverage Show & The Saudi Food Manufacturing Show in Riyadh in June , 2023 . The launch event will be affiliated to DWTC ’ s GULFOOD Global . As a further development , The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia will be rebranded for 2023 to include the broader hospitality , HORECA and interiors market and it is expected that the JV will be extended over time to cover other sectors .
Marketplace Events In the USA , Marketplace Events has made two more acquisitions . This time it ’ s the PA Home & Garden Expo acquired from the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg and the Louisville Home Garden & Remodeling Show acquired from the Building Industry Association of Greater Louisville . These follow the recent acquisition of several Christmas shows in Cleveland , Pennsylvania and Denver . EN
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