Previous Transactions
The Education World Forum is the world’s largest gathering of education and skills ministers. There are only a small number of companies with the ability to take on such a high profile, high government level event. Times Higher Education run over 150 events for education leaders and learners each year, including such prestigious events such as THE World Summit Series and the Global Sustainable Development Congress. We sold 100% of the business with the founder, Dominic Savage OBE, remaining with the business in an advisory role.
Elite runs Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo in the USA and Europe. We sold a majority stake to CloserStill Media who already own Automotive Interiors Expo in Europe and the USA. We first got involved with Elite in 2019 and spent a considerable amount of time with them both pre and post COVID in positioning the business for a successful sale.
We occasionally work on the buy-side rather than the sell-side and this was the first transaction by Raccoon Media Group following Raccoon’s acquisition by Cuil Bay Capital, led by Douglas Emslie. Abilities Expo is a series of seven exhibitions running across the USA that provide solutions for people with disabilities. We provided a full project service for Raccoon including due diligence.
The business consists of 16 cyber security conferences held on all five continents. Given the format and the high level of content we stepped outside of our traditional target buyer list of larger exhibition organisers and sold a majority stake to the Information Security Media Group (ISMG) the world’s largest media organisation dedicated to Information Security educational content in what is a very synergistic combination.
The business consists of two aerospace trade shows in Munich and Atlanta and the market-leading aerospace tech magazine for the sector. This is a very synergistic acquisition by Terrapinn and Mayfield's first transaction involving them.
Mayfield represented Open Room Events in their partial sale to Closer Still Media. The founders will remain with the business until at least the end of 2024. There are significant synergies between the businesses with both having strong events in the veterinary and dental sectors and Closer Still’s global infrastructure in the US in particular will add value to the Open Room events.
Holden Media runs the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show. Diversified was the logical buyer given their existing portfolio of events for the Hospitality sector and their positive experience of running shows in Manchester.
Hyve’s Turkish business comprised a number of acquisitions where we had originally worked on the sell side. These had been combined to create a market-leading portfolio of events that were recovering well from Covid but were in non-core sectors for Hyve. The business has been sold to ICA (JV) who also acquired the businesses in Central Asia. The local management team have remained with the business.
Another non-core disposal for Hyve. We handled the original sale by Debindo to what was then ITE in 2014. The Hyve shareholding has now been sold back to the Debindo management so it was interesting to work on the other side of the transaction.
Our first sale to MAG. The challenge in this transaction was that the whole EMEX team has launched another exhibition and therefore wanted to exit after the 2022 show later this year. We structured the transaction to provide both the necessary comfort for MAG and some upside for the sellers.
Big Data LDN is one of the UK’s largest data and analytics conferences and exhibitions. It has been acquired by RX. Mayfield represented the shareholders. As one of the most successful exhibition launches in the UK in recent years the business attracted multiple strong bids. The vendors were looking for a partner who offered the best strategic fit to help deliver growth - they will remain with the business for at least a further 2 years. RX's commitment to the tech sector and their understanding of events strategy and growth plans - including international replication - made them the preferred bidder.
121 Group is the leading global omni-channel organizer of mining investment events. The founders have sold 100% of the business to Hyve Group plc, they will remain with the company for at least 2 years to drive further growth. Hyve were chosen as the purchaser due to the synergies with Hyve’s Mining Indaba event and the opportunities offered by integration with Hyve’s technology platforms. Mayfield represented 121 Group in this transaction.
Times Aerospace Publishing are specialist publishers for the aviation industry in Africa and the Middle East. Tarsus acquired the business due to the synergies with the Dubai Air Show. The Times Aerospace team will be driving forward a digital strategy for the combined group – this will include developing the website as well as the TV and podcast channels.
Mayfield represented Tarsus advising them on their investment in the Hong Kong Printed Circuit Association (HKPCA), owner and operator of PCB - the world's largest Printed Circuit Board exhibition held annually in Shenzhen, China. The rationale is for Tarsus, as exhibition experts, to help HKPCA to grow and internationalize their activities for the printed circuit industry as well as the HKPCA members and the PCB exhibition.
Mayfield represented Hyve Group plc in the disposal of their businesses in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to management. This was a small but complex transaction as the profits from their businesses were split between different operating entities in different countries and it formed part of a planned programme of disposals of non-core assets. The total consideration is up to £9.5million.
The CCMA is an association for call centre leaders. For 25 years it has been organising events that share best practice and technical advances within the community. Redd Marketing had provided marketing services to the CCMA for a number of years and have acquired the business with the aim of building the provision of content to the community alongside the live events. The vendor was selling in order to retire and the deal was agreed pre-Covid. The transaction completed during lockdown with some de-risking provisions incorporated but without reducing the overall value. As an organisation running many small content-driven events they are well-placed to reposition to on-line events and in some areas are already delivering growth.
This series of regional auto shows is the final step in the development of the auto portfolio which now comprises six events covering all aspects of the automotive industry.
HPE organises Diabetes Professional Care so it fits very strategically into CloserStill's healthcare portfolio. This was a very competitive process with four bids received.
This follows on from the earlier sale of 50% of PT Amara to Comexposium which involved the Auto show in Indonesia. The joint venture has now acquired IMOS, the largest motorcycle show in Indonesia.
As part of ITE’s restructure to focus on Core brands and markets they wished to dispose of 56 non-core and mainly regional Russian exhibitions with a combined revenue of £12 million. We discussed the sale with a number of buyers with existing assets in Russia and knowledge of the portfolio and negotiated a deal structure with the former General Director of ITE’s Russian business to buy the business over a period of time with an incentive for an earlier payback. This was a core milestone in ITE’s restructure plan.
This was the second part of ITE’s Malaysian disposal process. It was a complicated transaction that involved closing down a subsidiary in Indonesia and coordinating with the simultaneous sale of the minority shareholders’ stake.
Tradelink is a subsidiary of ITE Group plc and the owner of Malaysian metalworking exhibition Metaltech. The sale was part of ITE’s strategy for transformation and growth which involves managing their portfolio of events. This is a key asset in Malaysia and attracted a number of strong offers – UBM were successful as they submitted a combined bid for the asset and the beauty portfolio. The transactions were completed separately due to different shareholder structures.
An all American transaction. Mayfield represented the shareholders of MBA Veterans Inc to Bradley-Morris Inc. The vendors had founded the business during their own MBA programmes and had grown it to become the leading recruitment event for military vets with qualifications from the most elite universities. The vendors were looking to exit the business and Bradley Morris was a logical acquirer due to their extensive portfolio of events in military recruitment.
Another buy-side deal on behalf of Closer Still Media. Following the acquisition of Technology for Marketing (TFM) from UBM, we approached Comexposium to acquire the UK edition of their global ad:tech brand which involved buying the UK business and licensing the name. The combination of ad:tech and TFM has created the UK's largest event for the marketing and advertising sector.
One of our buy-side transactions. Working on behalf of Closer Still Media we negotiated the acquisition of the Care Show and a Customer Technology Portfolio comprising E-commerce Expo and Technology for Marketing.
Seven Events runs GIIAS, the main Auto show for Indonesia and the largest event held in the country. It's a significant move by Comexposium and a complex deal due to the close involvement of the Association, Gaikindo.
Our third deal in China and one which fits Informa’s health food vertical perfectly
Our most complex deal to date involving 24 Chinese individuals and an Association as shareholders. We ran the process in two stages taking two bidders through due diligence.
Mayfield represented Tarsus advising them on their investment in the Hong Kong Printed Circuit Association (HKPCA), owner and operator of PCB - the world's largest Printed Circuit Board exhibition held annually in Shenzhen, China. The rationale is for Tarsus, as exhibition experts, to help HKPCA to grow and internationalize their activities for the printed circuit industry as well as the HKPCA members and the PCB exhibition.
The shareholders ran the Manchester Furniture show for many years and launched the January Furniture show an the NEC Birmingham when UBM moved their Interiors show to London. We sold 100% of the shares to Clarion with the current management staying on to deliver the next editions of the shows.
Escape Events organise a series of consumer shows in the travel sector – Upper Street have acquired 100% of the company but the existing management will continue to run the business for two years.
Launched only 3-years ago CCR Expo had grown to become the leading aesthetic medicine trade exhibition in the UK with significant potential for future growth and international replication. EasyFairs have acquired 100% with the outgoing shareholders remaining involved with the business for the first year.
PEP runs WOFEX the market leading series of food shows in the Philippines. They wanted an international partner to jointly develop more shows. This expands Tarsus’ presence in South-East Asia following on from the acquisition of PTIA (Indonesia) and AMB (Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines and Vietnam).
The founder and owner of EMS, the largest privately owned exhibition business in Africa was looking to sell 100% of the shares in the company in order to retire. Dmg will use EMS as a hub to build their business across Africa and to launch some of their existing brands in the region.
Legend Exhibitions are specialists in the retail sector. The shareholders were looking for a long term plan that enabled them to work with an acquirer to build the business for 2 years before they exit. They were open-minded as to whether this took the form of a phased sale or an earn-out and finding the right partner was as important as the value of the deal. The business attracted multiple offers and Reed were successful because of their willingness to add-value to the portfolio without restricting the entrepreneurial spirit that has helped to build it.
AMB runs a number of exhibitions in Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia and Philippines. Tarsus have already acquired a business in Indonesia and this gives them an additional business across key parts of SouthEeast Asia
Informa have strengthened their position in Egypt with the acquisition of 50% of the Cairo Automech-Formula Motor Show and 50% of the Sahel Motor Show. These were acquired from Artline – ACG–ITF. The Cairo Motorshow is the only motor industry event in Egypt approved by OICA and UFI and has been running for over 20 years. MMS acted as adviser to one of the selling shareholders.
Egytec is the organiser of Electricx in Cairo, the most important trade fairs for electrical and power generation in Africa and Middle East. Acquiring Electrix will help Informa to further develop their portfolio in Egypt. This was a pro-longed transaction that was started before the political turmoil in Egypt. However as Informa were such a natural partner for the event it was an exclusive negotiation that was completed in stages with the two parties working as partners before the eventual acquisition.
DC Advisory and MMS worked together as co-advisors and were a formidable combined team achieving a £127m sale representing the highest multiple paid for any exhibition business for many years.
The Breakbulk process attracted a high level of interest and was run as a two round process. ITE paid $40m plus a potential additional $2m based on revenue growth in 2015. The acquisition represents a balancing of ITE’s portfolio away from Russia and adds to their growing number of shows in the transport and logistics sector.
W Exhibition is a joinery and furniture manufacturing show. It’s a homecoming for the show as it was originally launched by Montgomery in 1973. This is also the first time MMS has handled the sale of a business to Montgomery
This was an exit for Australian Venture Capital firm, Arowana International, and a first move into Singapore for Diversified. The portfolio includes HR Summit, Asia’s largest human resources event together with a Congress series, magazine and web portal.
DUBM, part of the Debindo Group, organises Indobuildtech, the market leading series of Construction shows in Indonesia. ITE are focusing their development on China and South East Asia and Construction is one of their core sectors. The entrepreneurial ethos of the Debindo team matched nicely with ITE’s non-corporate approach to local partnerships
SIUF (China Shenzhen International Brand Underwear Fair) was launched in 2006 and has become a leading show in the Asia-Pacific market for underwear garments. The vendor was looking to sell a 50% stake to an international partner who can help develop the event into a world-leading underwear show.
This is Tarsus’s 3rd acquisition in China and it was a combination of their experience in the market and the synergies with the Off-Price show in Las Vegas that made them the preferred partner in a closely-matched bidding process
NTSR is one of the few Turkish organisers to run a portfolio of exhibitions and was therefore a very attractive target for many international purchasers. In 2010 the Chairman of NTSR entered into a strategic partnership with UBM to develop new shows in Turkey. This has now been extended into a joint venture with UBM acquiring 75% of NTSR and the Chairman of NTSR becoming Executive-Chairman of the joint operation. This is a classic example of a deal where the long-term future was the key priority over short-term capital value.
Sektorel are the organisers of ICCI, the market leading power generation exhibition and conference in Turkey. The strategic nature of both the sector and country attracted multiple bids for the business. Hannover Messe, through their Turkish subsidiary Hannover Fairs Turkey were chosen based on both the financial value of the deal and strategic-value they could offer.
Following the launch of the Labels Summit in Bali and the JV with Dyandra for Auto Aftermarket, Tarsus were looking for a business that would give them the resource to develop a multi sector portfolio of events in Indonesia. PTIA have very high level government contacts and wanted an international partner who could help them maximise their opportunities.
The main part of the strategy for the sale of CYF was to move the Flower Show Turkey from Yalova to Istanbul. Once the new show was established this became the third acquisition in Turkey by Tarsus, this time through their existing joint venture with IFO, acquired in the previous year.
Fiera Milano were looking for a partner in South Africa to be their hub for development in the region. Although Cape Gourmet’s food events are mainly tailored to a consumer audience, the strength of the management and the quality of their shows made them a perfect fit. They have acquired 75% of the shareholding – this is ideal for the Cape Gourmet shareholders who were looking for a partner to work with and to help develop the business into new market sectors.
Having acquired 75% of IFO last year, Tarsus consolidated their position in the Turkish market with the acquisition of 70% of these market leading Homeware and Gift Shows, Life Media. As a result of these two acquisitions, Tarsus is now the 3rd largest international organiser in Turkey.
All-Energy Australia is the sister event to All-Energy UK that was acquired by Reed last year. All-Energy UK and All-Energy Australia had different shareholders so the transactions were handled separately. All-Energy Australia was owned by the management team that created the event who were looking for an exit strategy that allowed them to benefit from the on-going strong growth of what is still a relatively immature market. Reed have acquired 80% of business and will buy the remaining 20% within the next 3-years. This allows Reed to benefit from a longer transition period and the vendors to receive a price that includes some upside from future growth.
All-Energy is the UK’s leading renewable energy exhibition that is held annually at AECC in Aberdeen. The energy sector is strategic for several organisers in the UK so we had a number of attractive offers for the business. We completed the transaction in a very tight timetable after the May 2011 event.
EnergyNet is the market-leading conference in Europe about Power in Africa. The event has a very strong reputation in this fast growing event. The vendors were looking to sell 100% but wanted to stay involved for a transition period to ensure its ongoing success. We attracted a number of offers and Clarion were chosen as the successful bidder partly because of the structure of their deal and partly because their experience and management was the best fit for the business going forward.
IFO is one of the best independent exhibition organisers in Turkey. Tarsus acquired 75% and will use the business as a base for their expansion in Turkey including launches and further acquisitions.
Red Publishing and Events run Cloud Expo Europe, a small early cycle event with huge growth potential. The challenge was to structure a deal that gave our client true value while de-risking it for the venture capital backed purchaser.
Roadexpo was owned by Faversham House and runs in Scotland and Ireland. It had become a non-core product for them.
Following the sales and marketing partnership signed in 2009, UBM Asia acquired 65% of these market leading jewellery exhibitions in Turkey. We structured a series of options for the remaining 35% which will allow the original owner to finally exit at a time of their choosing over the next 10 years.
Clarion Events acquired Survey Germany, organiser of the ZOW exhibition, they also took an option to acquire their Turkish business which had a number of financially unsustainable contracts. We used our deep relations in the Turkish market to renegotiate some of the key contracts so that the cost base of the business made financial sense.
E-Commerce Expo is a successful niche event launched by IMP Events Ltd. We’d worked for them before in 2005 when we sold Business Continuity Expo to Reed Exhibitions. The market for online trading shows in the UK is quite fragmented and there were a number of parties who were keen to acquire E-Commerce Expo to increase their impact in the sector. It was an excellent fit for UBM Live who also run Internet World – the deal involves an earn-out with the management of IMP continuing to have full control of the event until after the 2010 show. They are predicting strong growth so this will maximise the price for the vendors.
DMG wanted to sell their entire business in New Zealand and the preference was for one purchaser – a difficult task as the portfolio had three distinct sectors, some well-established gift shows, some trade shows which were mostly non-annual events and some consumer events. We ran parallel processes, looking for a purchaser for the each sector of the business and for the whole business. We had a lot of interest although the majority of offers were only for one of the three sectors but we succeeded in consolidating these into two transactions – one for the B2B shows and one for the B2C shows.
DMG had a strong portfolio of trade events in Australia and the main interest in acquiring them came from large international organisers looking to consolidate their position in the market. We had four offers for the entire portfolio plus a number of offers for single shows and were therefore able to have a strong second round bidding process. Diversified were ultimately successful as they had the most synergistic portfolio which gave them the most confidence in the future performance of the events
Rotaforte organises the main jewellery exhibitions in Turkey which are amongst Turkey’s most prestigious events. Rotaforte wanted a partner who could add value through their own experience in the jewellery industry. UBM Asia are already the market leaders in the jewellery sector in Asia and the relationship with Rotaforte was a good strategic move. There is an agreement which gives UBM Asia the opportunity to acquire an increasing stake in Rotaforte in the future.
DMG decided to sell the Ideal Home Show as part of its restructuring in order to focus on trade events. The Ideal Home Show is the UK’s oldest and best known exhibition and, although the event has declined in the past few years it still has a good reputation and very strong brand appeal. We attracted a number of potential purchasers and were able to complete a deal with Media 10 very quickly as they were the most logical purchaser due to their experience running Grand Designs.
There were three shows in this portfolio – the Ski Show, the Vitality Show and the Outdoor Show. They were being sold at the height of the recession and sponsorship revenue was lower than in previous years. Despite this the 2009 editions of the shows attracted good audience numbers and it was on the back of this that we were able to attract multiple bids and a very attractive price for the business.
Winner of the Best Exhibition Launch category at the AEO Awards in 2009. Counter Terror Expo was an unusual project because we began the sale process before the first edition of the event had even taken place. The vendor was looking for some financial security to enable him to focus on developing the show. We therefore structured a deal based on an earn-out delivering the vendors some cash on completion, with further payments based on future growth. The unprecedented success of the show – the launch edition sold out eight months before the event – attracted a lot of interest and we were able to choose a partner that offered the best long-term deal for the vendor.
The owners of Learning Technologies were looking for a deal that enabled them to retain some equity and continue to develop the show independently. They were adamant that they didn’t want to be taken over by a big-corporation and to lose their independence. Closer Still Media (CSM) have proved to be the perfect partner – they offer them expertise, help and advice where required, but let them run the show independently. The partnership has been very successful – the show has grown by 20% and they have launched a new event. As a venture capital backed business, the intention is for CSM to be sold in 3 – 5 years and the LT team will relinquish their remaining equity at that stage, sharing in the upside created by the overall buy and build strategy adopted by their new owners.
All Energy is the leading alternative energy show in the UK. It was jointly owned by Media Generation and the Aberdeen City Council. There were a lot of major organisers who were keen to acquire the event as the sector has delivered such high growth. QMDI were interested in the event as they were looking to replicate it into other markets – they wanted the vendors to retain a stake and to continue to be involved in the running of the show.
Winner of the Best Exhibition Launch category at the AEO Awards in 2008.
WFES (Abu Dhabi) was launched in Abu Dhabi by Turret Middle East and won the Best Exhibition launch category at the AEO Awards in 2008. Turret decided to sell the event following the first edition and because of both the subject matter and the territory there was very strong interest. We negotiated the sale of 100% of the event which included an earnout on the second edition and the right for Turret to launch other editions in certain other territories.
Ekin run EMITT, the market leading Travel and Tourism Exhibition in Turkey and also publish the Hotel Guide. The owners wanted to realise some capital by selling a stake in the business, but the buyer needed to be able to add value through their international network. ITE were a logical buyer because of both their strength in the sector and their already existing operations in Turkey. ITE acquired a majority stake whilst the EKIN management continue to run the business.
Employment Week had been acquired by Tarsus plc five years ago. The event no longer fitted into Tarsus’s portfolio and although it was profitable it was requiring considerable management time. They were looking to sell it to a specialist organiser for whom it would be a better fit. Summit Events were one of three bidders and bought the show.
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Mayfield Merger Strategies