of the 2019 figure of £ 10.5m . Full financial details of the value of the deal have not been disclosed .
Stephen Brooks back in the B2B business
ormer owner of Mack
F
Brooks exhibitions company , Stephen Brooks , has made a comeback into the B2B events space , three years after selling his company to Reed Exhibitions ( RX ).
He told EW exclusively that his new company , Market Dynamics Media ( MDM ), had acquired majority ownership of DCD International Ltd , organiser of data centre events worldwide and producer of training and on-line marketing services for the data management infrastructure sector ; the former ( events ) represents 40 % of profitability , the latter ( on-line ) represents 60 %.
Industry veteran and former Clarion boss Simon Kimble will chair the new company and own 2.5 % of the shares . Brooks will own 77.5 % and the remaining 20 % is owned by existing management led by founder of DCD International , George Rockett .
Brooks told EW the company would be pursuing an integrated hybrid approach , 60 % on-line / 40 % events . MDM , he said , aims to develop B2B platforms for niche markets “ that provide compelling , sector-specific , global , 24 / 7 interaction , content and training ; enabling buyers and suppliers to find one another at a time and in a manner that suits them , allowing them to access market data and learn from it at digitally-enabled scale and speed ”.
Brooks is clearly eager to get started again in the industry and told EW : “ I can ’ t wait to be working with George Rockett and Simon Kimble ”.
“ The shift to digital is having a significant impact upon events of course ,” he added , “ but face-to-face remains a key part of the mix in most sectors . The important thing for MDM is that its B2B platforms place digital first , with events organised at a time and in an environment that ’ s optimal for this approach .”
And , it appears there is more acquisition action to come : “ Our first acquisition , DCD International , focuses upon data management infrastructure but we aim to be in , at least , three additional sectors in the short-term , either via acquisition or launch ,” Brooks noted .
The DCM business filed £ 8.4m ( US $ 9m ) in revenues in 2021 , up from £ 5.6m in 2020 but still shy
Left : Stephen Brooks
“ The shift to digital is having a significant impact upon events of course , but face-to-face remains a key part of the mix in most sectors ”
Lord Rothermere takes over as CEO of DMGT Lord Rothermere , chair of media and global events group DMGT , has taken charge of the company he took private when it was delisted in January following an estimated £ 2.4bn buyout deal .
The move meant that Paul Zwillenberg , DMGT ’ s CEO , who has run the group since 2016 , stepped down from both the Board and his role as Group CEO on 30 September .
Lord Rothermere said : “ DMGT has been transformed under Paul ’ s leadership , setting the business up for an exciting future on our own terms . The fact he leaves behind a portfolio consisting only of market-leading businesses run by exceptional talent is testament to the integrity , vision and skill he brought to the role . I am immensely grateful to him for everything he has done .”
“ The needs of DMGT are different to what they previously were with the size of the Group now much smaller ,” Lord Rothermere added . “ Moving forward , I will be taking on the role of chairman and chief executive of the company , working directly with the leaders of DMGT to progress our strategy and make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead .
“ I am grateful to say that both Paul Zwillenberg and Tim Collier are staying on as Senior Advisors to DMGT to help guide us through this transition .” dmg events is a wholly owned subsidiary of DMGT and runs trade shows including ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi , International Pipeline Expo , FIND – Design Fair Asia and The Big 5 Construct shows . EW
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 5 2022 23