Informa expands B2B Events portfolio with $940 million acquisition of Tarsus
Informa Plc (LSE: INF.L), the international Academic Markets, B2B Markets and Digital Services Group, has announced its acquisition of B2B Events group, Tarsus for $940 million.
According to Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive of Informa, “We have long admired the Tarsus business which, like Informa, has been built around major brands in attractive, specialist B2B markets in the growing regions of Asia, China, the Middle East and the Americas.”
Douglas Emslie, Chief Executive of Tarsus, added that he is “extremely proud of the Tarsus business, our people and our customers. I could not think of a better partner than Informa to lead our brands and colleagues through the next phase of growth and expansion.”
The Informa Board believes that the combination of Tarsus and Informa is both commercially and financially compelling, with strong portfolio alignment that will deliver enhanced value for customers, additional opportunities for colleagues and attractive returns for shareholders.
Tarsus owns and operates over 160 Live and On-Demand B2B Event brands, with a focus on growing, specialist B2B markets with fragmented supply chains and high levels of innovation. The top 10 Tarsus Brands are expected to further expand Informa’s Tier 1 portfolio to more than 85 Brands, demonstrating characteristics such as a leading position within the market/region, brand strength and visibility, international customer base, high levels of forward commitments, consistent, strong revenue growth, volume, price and ancillary revenues, and revenue scale of $5m+.
Since 2019, when Tarsus plc was acquired by Charterhouse, the Tarsus portfolio has been expanded and enhanced through 24 new launches and 11 targeted acquisitions. Like Informa, Tarsus is seeing a strong return to the market for Live and On-Demand B2B Events in 2023.
The Informa and Tarsus portfolios are complementary, both geographically and by market category, strengthening Informa’s position across a number of verticals including:
- Beauty & Aesthetics: A4M, LiVDerm, South Beach Symposium
- Healthcare: Health Connect Partners, PAINWeek, Cardiometabolic Health Congress
- Packaging: LabelExpo (US, Mexico, Europe, China, Thailand, India)
- Infrastructure: Intertraffic, Rail+Metro, Infrastructure Connect, Cambuild
- Aviation: Dubai Airshow, MEBAA Show, Space Tech Expo
- Sustainability: Intersolar, Mexico Wind Power, Aquatech Mexico
- Homewares: Home Furnishing Expo Shenzhen (Hometex), Zuchex
- Fashion: SIUF Show, OFFPRICE
The combination of Tarsus with Informa is expected to generate c.$20m annualised operating synergies by 2025 through efficiencies in procurement, real estate, technology, event contracts and other areas.
Informa colleague, Mark Temple-Smith, will be the Executive Chair of Tarsus from completion through to the end of the Combination Programme in January 2024, and Douglas Emslie will become a Senior Advisor to the Informa Group through the Combination Programme, guiding on talent, brands and partnerships. Mark is currently Informa Markets Chief Operating Officer and was formerly the CEO of Asia for Tarsus.