Acquisitions |
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Stephen Carter is clearly bullish about the future and is confident the business will be running at 110 % - 115 % of 2019 revenues in 2024 – although he has acknowledged that price rises would play a part here .
The Informa deal for Tarsus was pushed through at pace to meet the Informa financial reporting deadline and there was no bidding process – unusual in any deal of that size . Also of note was the fact taht a large part of the consideration was not in cash , but in Informa shares . Should Informa shares rise from 675p to 850p within two years the deal will become worth over $ 1bn .
PE backs the Hyve platform for growth US firm Providence Equity Partners agreed to acquire UK-based exhibition business Hyve Group with an offer of 108p in cash for each Hyve share . The deal values the international exhibition organiser at approximately £ 481m ( US580m ).
A previous bid of 105p per share had been rejected . The Hyve directors , who have been advised by Goldman Sachs International and Numis , said they considered the new terms to be reasonable and unanimously recommended the deal . It now goes for approval to Hyve ’ s shareholders and is also subject to anti-trust clearance in the US .
Hyve ’ s global portfolio of market leading brands is divided across four divisions : RetailTech & FinTech , EdTech & Natural Resources and Retail , Manufacturing & Engineering and Asia . The portfolio consists of 33 in-person events and 23 tech-enabled products and includes brands such as : Shoptalk , Spring Fair , Bett , Mining Indaba and the recently acquired Fintech Meetup .
Commenting on the acquisition , Andrew Tisdale , a senior managing director of Providence Equity Partners , said : “ We are delighted to
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be investing in Hyve and supporting Mark [ Shashoua – CEO ] and the management team , including with capital , to support their growth plans .”
Providence is an experienced investor in the events sector having been the majority shareholder of CloserStill Media since 2018 , and having previously invested in Clarion Events .
So , the first half of March would suggest that the world of finance believes that trade shows sure are back and worth backing .
Cvent raises the stakes again Sandwiched between the Tarsus and Hyve deals was the daddy of them all – a huge $ 4.6bn acquisition by PE funds managed by Blackstone to take private event management software specialists Cvent .
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ( ADIA ) is a significant minority investor alongside Blackstone as part of the transaction .
Cvent offers a suite of technology solutions to power the entire event management process and claims 22,000 customers globally in the corporate , non-profit , higher education and hospitality sectors .
Since its founding in 1999 , Cvent has helped manage more than five million events , and listed over 302,000 hotels and venues as of 31 December , 2022 on the Cvent Supplier Network , an online platform with tools to search , negotiate and contract with hotels and venues for event space .
“ We look forward to our next chapter alongside the Blackstone team ,” said Reggie Aggarwal , founder and CEO of Cvent . With Blackstone ’ s backing , Aggarwal said the plan was to continue to invest in the business , “ and deliver the innovative solutions that meet our customers ’ needs and power the meetings and events ecosystem .”
David Schwartz , a senior managing
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“ The continued events and travel recovery is one of Blackstone ’ s highestconviction investment themes .” |
director at Blackstone , sounded just as bullish as Informa ’ s Stephen Carter and the Providence team , when he said : “ The continued events and travel recovery is one of Blackstone ’ s highest-conviction investment themes . Given our extensive experience in the hospitality , events and real estate sectors , we believe Blackstone is well positioned as a growth partner for this exceptional business .”
Vista Equity Partners , majority stockholder of Cvent , agreed to invest a portion of its proceeds as non-convertible preferred stock in financing for the transaction .
“ Since Vista first invested , Cvent has undertaken considerable business transformation and has been a testament to how we partner with founders like Reggie to help their businesses scale and thrive ,” said Monti Saroya , chairman of the Cvent Board of Directors , co-head of the Vista Flagship Fund and senior managing director . “ The newly digitised events landscape , coupled with Cvent ’ s strong existing customer base and commitment to innovation , has provided a new growth vector in a post-Covid world . We look forward to seeing the company continue to execute on the opportunities ahead of it .”
The transaction is expected to close mid-year 2023 , subject to approval by Cvent ’ s stockholders and required regulatory approvals . Cvent will become a privately held company .
So , with their wager on the strong , the new owners of Tarsus , Hyve and Cvent have identified digital and data as big areas for exploitation and growth , while appreciating the returning power of the face-to-face event paradigm .
After some difficult years , the global exhibitions organiser locomotive has clearly worked up a mighty head of steam and is rolling down the track at speed again .
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