The company behind Cannes Lions and Money 20/20 said the deal will generate over £4bn in revenue annually.
Informa, the company behind Cannes Lions and WARC, has acquired Clarion Events from Blackstone in a £2.24bn deal.
The cash deal, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, will bring Informa’s portfolio of B2B live events to more than a 100 and see the firm gain entry to three high growth verticals.
These include electronics, with IFA Berlin; igaming with ICE Barcelona and IGB Affiliates; and defence and security with DSEI.
The takeover is set to be funded from net proceeds of £940m in equity placement in partnership with Retailbook. The firm has also paused its share buyback programme while the acquisition goes through.
Informa expects its B2B Live Events portfolio to generate more than £4.2bn in annual revenue from this deal. It also expects to save £50m in overlapping costs and bring in an extra £25m in income by 2029 through the merger.
The FTSE 100 company already has some of the biggest events under its umbrella across marketing, which includes Cannes Lions, Effie and Content Marketing World; fintech with Money 20/20 (acquired in October 2024); cybersecurity with Black Hat and SecTor; gaming with GDC and Game Developer; and tech with London Tech Week and Asia Tech X Singapore.
The acquisition will see the firm expand its existing tech offering with insurance brand ITV Vegas and in energy with Distributech.
At the same time, as part of its growth strategy, Informa announced plans to separate its academic business, Taylor & Francis. The move comes as this part of the business is expected to reach $1bn in revenue and is growing at 4% rate annually.
Stephen A. Carter, group chief executive, Informa, said: “The planned separation of Taylor & Francis coincides with further expansion in B2B through the £2.24bn acquisition of Clarion, the UK-based owner of more than 100 B2B Live Event brands.
“The combination will underscore Informa as the UK-listed, international leader in B2B Live Events, with annual Group revenues exceeding $6bn and underlying revenue growth of 7% plus.
“Today’s announcements mark the latest step in a growth strategy that has seen B2B revenues grow tenfold since 2014, whilst generating more than $3bn of value in business intelligence and lifting Taylor & Francis revenues fourfold since it joined the group.”
Clarion’s chief executive, Lisa Hannah, will remain in her role and will lead the team as it operates within Informa. She will also join Informa’s executive leadership team.
