UK quoted exhibitions company Hyve Group Plc has acquired digital events company Retail Meetup for an initial £19m with a potential £9m earnout, funded from existing sources. The deal adds four virtual events and (says Hyve) allows its US events Shoptalk and Groceryshop to launch virtual events internationally with only limited development costs. Hyve’s own October 20 Shoptalk Meetup is said to have generated £1.8m in revenue by facilitating 18k meetings between over 2000 participants. The company now expects to rollout the format.
The virtual meetings can act as standalone events or provide supplementary meeting opportunities to complement in person events. The deal is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing. Retail Meetup, LLC is being acquired from its founders, Anil D. Aggarwal and Simran Rekhi Aggarwal, who sold the Shoptalk and Groceryshop events to Hyve in 2019 for $145m.
Hyve (formerly the ITE Group) has a market cap of £295m
