Easyfairs, of Belgium, has acquired 100% of German events organiser Untitled Exhibitions, completing the purchase of All About Automation (AAA) which operates four regional events. The events were launched in 2014 and this year attracted 600 exhibitors across the four locations.
The privately-owned EasyFairs owns more than 220 events in 18 countries across Europe, the UK, China, Russia, UAE, and the US. It is estimated to have revenues of some €180m and EBITDA of €35m. In addition to its trade shows, it operates 10 exhibition venues (totalling 225k sq m) in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden which host up to 500 events for other organisers.
The 23-year-old company, which has trebled profits in the past five years, is the world’s 17th largest exhibitions group (source: AMR), with B2B events in energy, packaging, logistics, transport and healthcare. It employs more than 800 people.
The EasyFairs founder and owner is Eric Everard, a prominent Belgian entrepreneur who was once a director of Reed Exhibitions, responsible for the Cannes-based Mipcom and MipTV. He founded Artexis (venues) in 1997 and launched the European Student Fair a year later. Sixteen years on, he formed Easyfairs International to launch exhibitions, and merged the two companies in 2014.
Everard and EasyFairs are never far from speculation about a deal with one of the larger global trade show organisers. But companies like Informa and Reed are unlikely to want to own and operate the EasyFairs venues. By contrast, Clarion’s owner Blackstone private equity already has venue investments in its burgeoning portfolio. Will 2020 be the year?
