Dealmakers
Steve Monnington Managing director Mayfield Media Strategies
Dealmakers
Steve Monnington rounds up a busy period for M & A activity
I t ’ s been another busy couple of months , primarily across UK and USA and Germany , with ten acquisitions and strategic partnerships announced .
The biggest deal of the period was Informa ’ s purchase of Winsight . Fresh from spending $ 940m on Tarsus , they have acquired Winsight , a US-based event organiser and digital information services group for the food sector , for $ 380m . Winsight is forecasting an EBITDA of $ 35m for 2023 coming from a combination of trade shows for the restaurant sector ( including National Restaurant Association Show ) and training , information services and research and analysis . The business joins a portfolio that includes Natural Products Expo ( Philadelphia and Anaheim ), Supplyside West ( Las Vegas ) and Vitafoods ( Geneva ).
Arc Group continue to be the most prolific acquirer in terms of the number of transactions with two more deals in this period . The first is UK-based Marketing in Partnership ( MiP ) operating in the asset management sector . MiP organises its own events – Joint Investment Conference , Select , and Global Investment Management Summit – as well as providing marketing solutions and organising events on behalf of its clients . The acquisition will complement some of the brands run by Incisive Media ( Investment Week Professional Adviser ) which they acquired in April last year . They also acquired Renewable Energy Events who run Low Carbon Agriculture , which consists of Energy Now Expo , Environmental Business Expo , Farm Technology Expo , and Low Emissions Vehicle Expo and will become part of the Agriconnect business . The Agri portfolio includes Farmers Guardian and LAMMA , which kickstarted the whole Arc buy and build journey in August 2021 .
Raccoon Media Group is on an interesting journey . From its inception in 2016 with the launch of the National Running Show it has evolved into a fully formed media business with ten exhibitions and a digital platform . Initially the focus was on consumer shows for outdoor sports but the recent acquisition of
the Allergy and Free From and Just V show brands extends the focus into lifestyle and nutrition .
At the other end of the spectrum , US B2B media company WTWH Media has signed an agreement to acquire Aging Media Network , a digital platform for the senior care and behavioral health sectors . WTWH run events and provide marketing solutions across the Engineering , Healthcare and Life Sciences , and Foodservice , Retail , and Hospitality verticals .
Congratulations are due to two Blenheim alumni . Doug Emslie was awarded with this year ’ s AEO Award for ‘ Outstanding Contribution to the Industry ’, while Paul Thandi has been promoted to chairman of the NEC Group .
Transactions and partnerships this period . ( June / July )
Buyer Business Country Sector Informa Winsight USA Food
Questex
NYU Int ’ l Hospitality Investment
USA
Hospitality
WTWH Media Ageing Media Network USA Senior Care Arc Group Marketing in Partnership UK Investment Arc Group Low Carbon Agriculture UK Farming Datateam Business Media Sign & Digital UK UK Visual Comms Raccoon Media Group Allergy and Free From UK Nutrition
Hamburg Messe / Transglobal
Events ( Partnership ) Hydrogen Tech Expo Germany Science Tech Messe Munich / Nuremburg Messe ( Partnership ) Drinktec / BrauBeviale Germany Beverage Koelnmesse Buy out of Minority stake India Portfolio
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 4 2023 11