UK-based exhibitions company CloserStill Media has acquired Spring Messe from Deutsche Messe AG. The company operates HR trade shows including Zukunft Personal which bolts on to CloserStill’s corporate learning portfolio. The cash consideration was £11.48m.
The show attracts 20,000 HR professionals and 12.5k sq m of exhibitor space, and is held in Cologne with regional versions in Hamburg and Stuttgart. The company will continue to be based in Mannheim. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
CloserStill is 65% owned by Providence Equity Partners and 35% by its management team (led by chairman Phil Soar), as a result of the disposal last year of a minority stake by Inflexion private equity.
The company made EBITDA (pre exceptionals and non-cash adjustments) of some £21.25m from £60m revenue in 2018 which was 28% ahead or 12% organically. Its events were attended by 194k visitors.
Some 58% of CloserStill revenue came from the UK in 2018 (though the pace of international acquisitions implies that this proportion will have reduced substantially in 2019). The US last year accounted for 16% of revenue, France for 14%, and Germany for 8%.
