Dealmakers
Steve Monnington
Managing Director
Mayfield Media Strategies
Dealmakers
Mergers and acquisitions are being put on pause during Covid-19 – but there will be plenty
of opportunities in the aftermath, says Mayfield Media Strategies’ Steve Monnington
All but one of the transactions listed below happened before
Covid-19 took hold, forcing the entire exhibition industry to
shut down. The one exception was Diversified Communication’s
acquisition of Energy Storage North America. This follows the
acquisition of Intersolar North America last year and the two
events will be co-located in 2021 so that renewable energy
production and storage will sit side by side.
The short-term outlook for M&A is clear. The major organisers
who make up the majority of the buyers are focused on saving
their own businesses amid the postponement or cancellation
of their own shows, and acquisition processes have been put
on hold. The medium term is less clear – some organisers and
Private Equity firms see the opportunity for possible bargains as
independent organisers feel the financial pain. However, those
independents are fully focused on staying in business and are
currently planning on running their shows later in the year. No-
one wants to sell out their life’s work for a fraction of its value.
Longer term, when a vaccine is found and Covid-19 is
under control, exhibitions will be at the forefront, leading the
revitalisation of trade across every sector. As long as there isn’t a
second wave, we should start to see M&A activity in those countries
that are early coming out of lockdown. There are reports that
China is planning to start exhibitions again in a few months’ time.
We have been hosting phone conferences with six independent
organisers at a time, creating a forum for them to listen to each
other’s experiences and to swap ideas on how to deal fairly with
exhibitors and how the different venues are treating them for their
show postponements or cancellations.
The over-riding sentiment was that the value of their show
brand is intrinsically linked to being mindful of their exhibitors’
issues and to act fairly, carrying over deposits to future editions.
Any attempt to run a show before it’s clear that it’s safe and in the
interests of the sector to do so will be seen as a cynical financial
decision and will backfire. Unfortunately, some of the venues aren’t
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
behaving towards organisers in the same way as the organisers are
towards their exhibitors, meaning extra pressure on cash flow at a
time when some organisers have already agreed pay cuts with their
staff. There is then an inevitable knock-on effect to the vast network of
freelancers and small suppliers who support the sector.
In a recent Flashes and Flames article, Colin Morrison wrote that
“companies should collaborate and form alliances with competitors
and counterparts throughout the world. We are, quite literally, all in
this together. It can be an opportunity to build new relationships in a
media marketplace that may never be quite the same again”.
Very wise words – no-one should be alone in this and everyone has
a part to play in being fair to each other in order for the industry as a
whole to come through this as unscathed as possible.
Transactions during the two months to March 2020:
Buyer Business
Country
Sector
Reed Exhibitions Coffee & Chocolate Expo South Africa Food
Reed Exhibitions ITS World Congress USA Intelligent Transport
Tarsus Unfiltered Experience USA Beauty
Questex Informa’s Live Design
portfolio USA Design
Marketplace Events Cincinnati Holiday Market USA Travel
Diversified
Communications Energy Storage N America USA Energy
Diversified
Communications Aquaculture UK Food
SAE SMI Group UK Conference Portfolio
ICG Pageant Media UK Finance
Mark Allen Group RBI’s Farmers Weekly
portfolio UK Farming
CloserStill Media Zufunft Personal Expo Germany Human Resources
Easyfairs SIEL Algeria Hospitality
Issue 2 2020
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