Steve Monnington Managing director Mayfield Media Strategies
Dealmakers
everal of the transactions that have been announced in the last two months show a continuing appetite for both strategic tie-ups and digital businesses . Emerald and Comexposium have created a strategic partnership for the launch of SIAL USA . SIAL , the largest brand owned by Comexposium , will take place alongside Emerald ’ s International Pizza Expo and International Artisan Bakery Expo . It ’ s not every day that we see two major organisers collaborating in this way but the vast majority of Emerald ’ s business is in the USA , one geographic market where Comexposium is under-represented .
In China , GL Events has invested in a 10 % strategic stake in Northstar Convention Group which manages 20 convention and exhibition venues totalling over 4 million sqm , including the China National Convention Center and Beijing International Convention Center . They have also organised many events over the years including the 2014 APEC Summit and the 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit .
GL Events is one of four investors , each of which will hold a 10 % stake , but the company is the only one with an event focus . This follows GL ’ s tie up with Nexus Point , an Asian private equity fund with a focus on strategic opportunities in China , earlier this year which will see Nexus Point invest up to € 192m in GL Events Greater China over the next two years .
Staying with China , Messe Frankfurt has signed a new strategic alliance with the Tianjin Commission of China and the National Convention & Exhibition Center ( NCEC Tianjin ) to expand exhibition business in Northern China with international branded trade fairs . The Auto Maintenance and Repair Expo ( AMR ) will be the first trade show organised by Messe Frankfurt at NCEC in 2022 .
Having had to rely on digital revenue during the pandemic , it ’ s unsurprising that mainstream live exhibition businesses have been focusing on the acquisition of digital businesses as well as traditional exhibitions .
‘ Omnichannel ’ is one of the buzzwords that will be increasingly used post-pandemic and the acquisition by Tarsus of BodySite Digital Health , a digital patient care management and education platform is intended to fast-track Tarsus Medical ’ s omnichannel strategy . The aim is to provide digital services and products alongside its programme of live and virtual events and continuing medical education , particularly in the division ’ s American
Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine ( A4M ) brand .
Staying on the theme of digital as part of a wider product strategy , MCH Group , owner of the Art Basel exhibitions and operator of Messe Basel and Mese Zurich , has acquired Swiss event organiser Digital Festival with its three events - Digital Festival , HackZurich and HackZurich Talents . The main event is in fact an in-person show but will be staged as a hybrid event for the first time this year and HackZurich , now in its eighth year , was the world ’ s first hackathon to be held as a hybrid event last year .
Finally , the big deal of the period was the acquisition of International Data Group ( IDG ) and its subsidiary IDC by private equity firm Blackstone for US $ 1.3bn to add to their investments in Clarion Events and Global Sources . The origins of IDG are in the launch of Computerworld magazine in 1967 subsequently joined by the launch of PC World magazine and Macworld Expo which became IDG ’ s flagship exhibition and a mouthpiece for Apple . More recently IDG has made acquisitions aimed at the data and analytics part of the business , acquiring Triblio to expand its software-as-aservice platform and Metri to increase its IT pricing data business . The management team has highlighted that additional capital from Blackstone will allow them to expand further into data and analytics , a view that may prompt speculation about the future of the publishing and events side of the business .
Transactions this period
Buyer Business Country Sector
Blackstone Tarsus Emerald / Comexposium MCH Mark Allen Group Farnborough Exh ’ n Centre 365 Events GL Events
Messe Frankfurt / Tianjin
IDG / IDC Bodysite Digital Health SIAL USA launch Digital Festival Reed Elsevier magazines ITT Hub IFEX / ScotHot
Northstar Convention Group ( 10 % strategic stake )
Commission of Commerce
USA / Global USA USA Switzerland UK UK UK China
China
Tech Medical Food Tech Various Transport Food Strategic
Strategic
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