Informa buys Clarion Events, home of Anime NYC, Awesome Con and more

Con-solidation: Informa, owner of the Fan Expo family of events, has just purchased Clarion, owner of Leftfield Media’s suite of events, including Anime NYC, Rose City Comic Con, and the upcoming KPEX, Korean themed event. Clarion’s pwn parent company is the multi-national Blackstone investment group. 

Although consumer events are part of both companies, both make their money on B2B events, and that’s the heart of the deal:

Clarion will expand Informa’s presence in live events, particularly in electronics, defense and security, and gaming. The transaction will also deepen Informa’s positions in technology and energy, management said.

Following the combination and Taylor & Francis separation, Informa expects its Live Events operation to generate nearly $5 billion, or just over £4.2 billion, in revenue, with annual growth of roughly 7%. The combined portfolio is expected to include about 1,000 live-event brands across 40 markets and 30 countries, serving more than 9 million attendees and nearly 250,000 exhibitors.

The purchase price was £2.24 billion, about US$2.8 billion. 

The deal is expected to close in December, but no changes to the fan events are expected in the very short term. Long term…who knows? 

Although Fan Expo Canada is one of North America’s biggest fan events, and Anime NYC drew more than 170,000 people in 2026, they are still small potatoes revenue-wise in the worldwide event space. According to a 2023 ranking of event companies, Informa is the biggest in the world, followed by RELX, home of ReedPop and this week’s New York Comic Con. Clarion is #3 on the list, so Informa is just getting bigger and bigger – in 2025 it had revenue of $3.7 billion. 

Among Informa’s blockbuster shows, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Magic Las Vegas, Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), and the ever popular World of Concrete. 

Although fan events draw more people, they are not as profitable as World of Concrete, partly because all those people need more services and expect more bells and whistles like guests and concerts. 

Although now that I’m looking at it, World of Concrete does seem pretty exciting, with showcases like Fastest Trowel on the Block:

Get in on the action by exploring the event areas where you can watch concrete and masonry masters compete for championship titles and get up close with the latest equipment & technology.

OK, best not to go down this rabbit hole. 

I’ve only been to a few Fan Expo events, but they are very well run, professional shows, and hopefully your favorite Leftfield event will be about the same as things shake out.