Dealmakers
Steve Monnington
Managing Director
Mayfield Media Strategies
Dealmakers
y last column was all about Tarsus and GL Events,
and they’re both in the news again.
Easily the biggest news of the last two months
was the proposed privatisation and acquisition of
Tarsus by Charterhouse Capital Partners, demonstrating the
ever-increasing power of private equity money in the exhibition
sector. The bid came at a premium of 36% to the share price and
values the company at £668m (US$837.6m) including the taking
over of the debt. It was announced as a multiple of 17x average
2017 & 2018 EBITDA (averaged because Tarsus has several
biennial shows).
Using 2017 profits is clearly a bit out of date, but Tarsus is
a publicly traded stock so they can’t reflect the valuation as a
multiple of more current profits. This would be seen as providing
confidential information to their shareholders. I estimate the
valuation to be around 14.5x average 2018 & 2019 EBITDA which
puts it more in line with some of the other recent large deals
we’ve seen.
If other PE deals are anything to go by, Tarsus will become
more acquisitive and will have the capital to make larger
purchases. The Tarsus transaction is scheduled to complete in
mid-August and irrevocable undertakings from management
and other major shareholders representing more than 40% of the
shares have made sure that there hasn’t been a counterbidder.
Now we’re all waiting to see if EasyFairs is the next large
organiser to be sold.
In last month’s column, we were waiting for the announcement
of GL Events’ next exhibition acquisition in China in 2019, and
here it is. Their third deal this year sees them acquire 60% of
Interwine, the specialist exhibition for the wine and spirits sector
in southern China, held twice a year in Guangzhou. This adds to
the earlier acquisitions of CIEC Union (Home Décor) and Fashion
Source (Fashion Fabrics). GL run around 10 regional wine and
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
gastronomy fairs in France, but this is their first foray into the wine
sector in China. Interwine focuses on international wines for the
China market, so GL’s presence in the sector in France can only boost
international exhibitor participation.
Media 10 have sold their two Design shows in Shanghai and
Beijing to Clarion Events. It’s the first time that they’ve sold events,
and they’ve definitely made it count. As with Tarsus, the multiple
being quoted in some sections of the press (13.5x) is exaggerated.
The price is thought to be a little bit north of £30m which would
represent a multiple of around 10.5x historic EBIT. This is still high
for what is effectively a single product, however multiples are high in
China and the risks normally associated with the acquisition of local
businesses are not present here.
Transactions this period:
Buyer
Business
Country Sector
Charterhouse Capital Tarsus Group Global Various
Immediate Media River Street Events UK Consumer
EasyFairs Medicine Aesthetics Media UK Aesthetic
SPIE Xmark Media UK Photonics
IACF Peterborough Festival of
Antiques UK Antiques
Naylor Association
Solutions Techmedia USA Digital Marketing
Second Street Media Niche Media USA Business
Leafbuyer
Technologies CBD USA Cannabis
Clarion Design Shanghai/Beijing China Design
GL Events Interwine (60%) China Wine
DVV Media Reed ’s aviation portfolio Global Aviation
art.fair International (40.1%) Germany Art
Montgomery/TFI
Issue 4 2019
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