UK events firm that hosts arms fairs and comic shows sold to rival for £2bn

FTSE 100 firm Informa to buy Clarion from private equity group Blackstone

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A British events business that hosts arms fairs and conventions for comic book fans has been snapped up by a FTSE 100 rival for more than £2bn.

Informa has struck a £2.24bn deal to buy the London-based events organiser Clarion from the private equity group Blackstone

The takeover will add more than 100 events to Informa’s portfolio – from the defence and security exhibit DSEI held at London’s ExCel, to the comic book and pop culture themed AwesomeCon in Washington.

DSEI, which is held every two years in London as well as in Germany and Japan, has also attracted protests.

Last year, hundreds demonstrated outside the four-day fair in London in protest against Israel’s three biggest arms companies present at the event. Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries have supplied the Israel Defense Forces; the latter two are state-owned.

Clarion’s portfolio also spans travel shows, classic car meet-ups and events for the technology, gaming, design and technology industries. Its Classic Motor Show event in Birmingham next month is billed as the “world’s largest vehicle club gathering”.

Stephen Carter, the Informa chief executive, said the company was “accelerating the focus” on its core live events business, as it also laid out plans to spin off its academic publishing arm, Taylor & Francis.

Informa, which is headquartered in London and employs 14,000 people, hosts big industry events around the world, including London Tech Week and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

However the FTSE 100 group’s shares have been flat so far this year as it was forced to reschedule several events in the Middle East because of the conflict in the region.

Last year Carter, who has led the group since 2013, moved his residency from the UK to the UAE and retired from the House of Lords. Informa makes more than a third of its revenue in India, the Middle East and Asia.

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The academic publishing business made about $1bn (£760m) last year. Informa said that it had launched a formal process to separate Taylor & Francis, and that it would “review all options”. The outcome of the review will be reported alongside its full-year results in March next year.

Taylor & Francis, which was founded in London in 1852, joined Informa in 2004. It publishes journals and books about science, medicine, technology and engineering.

Informa told investors on Tuesday that in order to fund the Clarion deal, it will raise £940m through a share placing, which will include an offer for armchair investors through the broker RetailBook.

The takeover is expected to accelerate Informa’s growth and bolster its earnings per share from 2027, the company said. Shares in the business, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, rose by 1.4% in early trading on Tuesday.

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