Blackstone Group has hired Goldman Sachs to handle the sale of Clarion Events, people familiar with the matter said.
Clarion will be the third-largest exhibition organizer by revenue by 2023, according to strategy consultancy Stax. The company reported revenue of $561m (£432.9m) in 2023, up from $333m (£257m) in 2022. There was a significant improvement afterwards.
In August, Reuters said Clarion could be sold for as much as $2.6 billion.
The events industry has become fertile ground for acquisitions. Just in the past few months, Clarion acquired Infocast; private equity firm Truelink Capital acquired GES Exhibitions; NSW Capital acquired a majority stake in Expo Group; and CloserStill Media acquired a majority stake in Partnership Network Events.
Another major deal is Hyve Grop’s acquisition of HLH, a UK-based global events company for international health innovators.
Blackstone acquired Clarion Events in 2017 for $782 million. In 2018, it merged the business with Hong Kong exhibition organizer Global Sources. It supports businesses coping with the challenges posed by the Covid-19 shutdown.
“As with any investment held by Blackstone or any other PE investor, there will be a transaction at some point,” said Liz Irving, president of Clarion Events North America. “For Clarion, we don’t have a specific timeline, but Clarion Our commitment to delivering value and innovation to our customers remains unchanged. We will invest in the business for long-term success.
Clarion supports 125 events and brands across a range of markets including retail and home, gaming, defense and security, technology and energy.
Founded in 1947, the company has grown to 50 offices in 12 countries and 2,000 employees worldwide.
