M & A
Market moves by Ascential and easyfairs
Following on from our M & A specialist Steve Monnington ( p11 ), we report more on the busy acquisition trail of recent weeks
Ascential sells Digital Commerce business and appoints new CEO
A scential plc , organiser of the LIONS events and Money20 / 20 , has completed the sale of its Digital Commerce business to Omnicom Group Inc .
Consequently , Duncan Painter has stepped down from the Board of Ascential and the position of CEO . He will now serve as CEO of Flywheel Digital , a new practice area within Omnicom . Independent non-executive directors Joanne Harris and Charles Song also stepped down from the Board of Ascential as of 2 January .
The company announced Philip Thomas as the new executive director and CEO of Ascential with immediate effect . He has been CEO of Lions Festivals and is chairman of Cannes Lions .
Scott Forbes , chairman , Ascential thanked Painter for his stewardship of Ascential over the past 12 years . “ Under his tireless and visionary leadership , each of our portfolio businesses have been truly transformed to meet the challenges of the modern era . We wish Duncan continued success in the next chapter of his career with Omnicom .”
Ascential also announced it had agreed a new , four-year , multi-
Duncan Painter
currency revolving credit facility ( RCF ) of GBP £ 200m ( USD $ 254m ) with a syndicate of banks . This new facility will become effective when Ascential ’ s existing £ 450m RCF is fully repaid and cancelled following the completion of the Digital Commerce sale .
The new facility includes an accordion to raise additional debt amounts of up to £ 25m by March 2024 .
Ascential also noted all required regulatory clearances have been received in respect of the sale of its product design business , WGSN , to Wind UK Bidco 3 Limited ( a new company established by funds advised by Apax Partners ).
Easyfairs acquires Southern Manufacturing & Electronics
Easyfairs staff raise a glass to latest acquisition
Easyfairs has acquired Southern Manufacturing & Electronics , a significant addition to easyfairs ’ European engineering and manufacturing portfolio of events .
Southern Manufacturing & Electronics ’ 26th edition takes place 6-8 February 2024 at Farnborough International Exhibition Centre , in England , and was set to attract over 460 exhibitors and 9,000 attendees .
Easyfairs currently organises 30 industrial events across nine countries , including Advanced Engineering , Advanced Manufacturing and All About Automation . Advanced Engineering , one of the biggest in the portfolio , has its flagship event at the NEC Birmingham in November and is the UK ’ s largest annual gathering of engineering and manufacturing professionals . Since its acquisition by Easyfairs in 2015 , it has become a market leader and launched also into Belgium and Sweden .
Matt Benyon , group CEO of Easyfairs , commented : “ Southern Manufacturing & Electronics is a perfect strategic fit for our growing portfolio .”
Southern Manufacturing & Electronics was built up as a family business by founders Phil and Jo Valentine who will remain involved with the business as consultants . Easyfairs will resume full operational running of the event from the end of February 2024 .
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 1 2024 43