Dealmakers
Steve Monnington Managing director Mayfield Media Strategies
Dealmakers
Steve Monnington says privatisations of publiclyquoted companies in the sector is becoming a trend
T he announcement of transactions in the sector has slowed down these last two months but , under the bonnet , exhibition M & A activity continues to increase . Here at Mayfield Towers we are busier than ever , seeing a record number of inbound enquiries from entrepreneur-owned organisers wanting to sell or partner . Almost all of the acquisitive organisers we talk to have a strong pipeline of potential transactions which should translate into transaction announcements over the next few months .
How to present the Covid years in the financial statements in the Information Memorandum is no longer an issue – it has now become a blip in historic trading patterns . Strong current trading underpinned by robust future contracted revenue is giving buyers confidence .
In my last column , I broke down the key elements of the acquisition of Tarsus by Informa for US $ 940m . Expectations were for a formal completion in June due to the need for clearance by the US competition authorities . However , this happened quickly and the transaction formally completed on 17 April . The integration process has begun with a target of combining the two businesses by the end of the year .
The sale of Hyve has been approved by shareholders following an increased offer by Providence Equity Partners . After an offer of 105p per share was rejected , Providence increased their offer in mid March to 108p per share . After some pushback from several large shareholders , the offer was increased further to 121p per share and this was accepted on 3 May by 87 % of shareholders . The final price values the business at approximately £ 524m . Although this is being trailed as a multiple of 22.1x EBITDA for the most recent financial year to 30 September 2022 , the reality is that the business hadn ’ t reached
“ It ’ s unusual for a private equity firm
to hold two parallel investments in the exhibition sector , especially in the same country ”
full recovery during that period and Hyve are more than halfway through the current year ’ s trading .
The Hyve acquisition means yet another privatisation of a publicly quoted company , something that is becoming a trend . Tarsus made that journey in 2019 when they de-listed and sold to Charterhouse , and Lord Rothermere took DMGT private in early 2022 .
So who ’ s next ? Ascential seem to have started that journey with the announcement of plans to sell WGSN , their consumer data business . This will focus attention on their remaining events business – Cannes Lions and Money 2020 – and Money 2020 must be high on the Hyve acquisition wish list now that they will have significant capital available from their new owners . There are existing links here – Money 2020 was acquired by Ascential when Hyve CEO Mark Shashoua was CEO at what is now Ascential Events . Hyve has already acquired the Ascential exhibition portfolio in 2018 which brought them exhibitions such as Spring Fair , Autumn Fair and education brand BETT and were linked with an approach for Money 2020 back in 2021 .
It ’ s unusual for a private equity firm to hold two parallel investments in the exhibition sector , especially in the same country , but Providence will own both Hyve and CloserStill Media which could raise conflicts on acquisition strategy .
Transactions and partnerships this period . ( April / May )
Buyer Business Country Sector Providence
KNOW Identity
EagleTree Capital
Hyve
CyberRisk Alliance
PRA
UK
USA
USA
Portfolio
Cybersecurity
Corporate Events
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 3 2023 11