change take
Informa is acquiring Ascential, owner of Money 20/20 and Cannes International Creativity Festival. Hyve Group is buying Possible conferences. What do these deals mean for the meetings and events industry?
Andrea Doyle
Increased transaction volume in the field of business activities.
Recent deals include Informa’s $1.55 billion cash acquisition of Ascential, owner of global marketing and advertising festival Cannes Lions and financial services event Money20/20.
Hyve Group is acquiring Beyond Ordinary Events, the organization behind Maybe, a three-day conference focused on marketing, technology, media and culture.
Brussels-based international events company Easyfairs has received investment from two private equity firms, Cobepa and Inflexion.
Vincent Polito, chief executive of the Society of Independent Exhibition Organizers (SISO), said: “There is a significant amount of new capital coming into the industry, which recognizes the continued confidence and trust in the trade show and events world. ” Profit trade shows, consumer shows, expos, conferences and events. “The fact that you’re seeing very well-known brands moving suggests a positive unease, which means you should expect to see more deals, not less. As brands consolidate, so will typically Leading to a movement of talent, which can often spark further innovation.
strategic trading
Informa shared some of its plans for the Ascential brand. The company is considering making Lions clubs the centerpiece of the new Informa Festivals business. These include the Monaco Yacht Show, London Technology Week and Black Hat. It also plans to expand Money20/20 to the Middle East and Africa through Tahaluf, a joint venture partnership with the Saudi Arabian Federation of Cybersecurity and Programming.
Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings noted Informa’s acquisition history. “Informa’s track record of integrating businesses may reduce execution risk. As part of its capital reinvestment strategy, the company has completed a number of strategic acquisitions and successfully merged Winsight, Tarsus and HIMSS in 2023, demonstrating a strong integration track record .
In another deal, Informa entered into a $10 million partnership with Microsoft to bolster its artificial intelligence capabilities. The deal will give Microsoft access to Informa’s data, aiming to enhance its artificial intelligence systems.
Hyve Groups Buy products that go beyond the usual activities
MMA, the Industry Marketing Association, will continue to be Maybe’s strategic partner. The second “Possible” was held in Miami in mid-April. The show attracted 3,600 attendees, an increase of 1,000 from the first year.
Hyve plans to expand the conference internationally and add conference elements, such as one-on-one appointments scheduled during the Shoptalk event in Las Vegas. More than 75,000 meetings were held over three days.
Next year, the Possible conference will be held April 28-30 at the Fontainebleau in South Beach.
“I believe the acquisition of Hyve was not to capture Maybe, but to enhance and expand the brand,” Polito said. “I don’t think this is a consolidation trend, but more accurately an expansion trend.”
Easyfairs receives major investment
Another industry deal involves Easyfairs, an international events company based in Brussels. It received investment from two private equity firms, Cobepa and Inflexion. Additionally, Easyfairs founder Eric Everard will reinvest in the company as part of the three-way partnership.
“After more than 25 years of own investment, Easyfairs has grown from a small Belgian startup to a global top ten player in our industry. Now it is time to write a new chapter in our history through this exciting three-way partnership.
Easyfairs organized 110 exhibitions in 112 industry verticals. They include packaging and logistics, manufacturing, industrial processing, hospitality and construction. The company also manages eight venues in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden.
“Easyfairs is one of several European organizers who are starting to recognize the importance of the North American market and starting to build infrastructure here,” Polito said. “The recent EasyFairs deal will enable them to build through releases and geo-cloning.”
