Another intriguing array of six acquisitions this month with a continuing US focus.
US leading the way again
We have become used to Associations selling their events to for-profit organisers, especially in the US. But I believe that the planned acquisition of Exhibitor Group by The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) is the first time that the ownership of an events business has moved in the opposite direction. If you stop and think about it, it makes perfect sense.
Exhibitor Group, founded as Exhibitor Media Group in 1982 and acquired in 2022 by STAR Exhibits & Environments, is the publisher of Exhibitor magazine and organiser of Exhibitor Live, the US industry’s exhibition for trade show and corporate event professionals, and IAEE is the world’s largest exhibitions and events industry association with a membership of organisers, exhibitors and suppliers – i.e. the whole ecosystem addressed by Exhibitorand Exhibitor Live. IAEE view this as a combination “that will elevate the entire exhibitions and events industry.” The equivalent in the UK would be the AEO acquiring Mash Media – now there’s a thought…
LA-based Connect Media has acquired Networld Media Group, of Kentucky, a B2B media company delivering industry news and conferences for the restaurant, retail, banking and technology sectors. Connect was founded in 2014 by Daniel Ceniceros and provides news and creative and agency services as well as organising conferences for the commercial real estate, financial and capital markets sectors in North America. Revenue comes primarily from events, sponsorship, lead gen and marketing services. The acquisition of the 26-year-old Networld Media adds several new sectors to Connect as well as bringing creative and agency services to its portfolio. Networld events include: the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit and the Automated Retail & Kiosk Innovation Show.
Staying in the world of commercial real estate media, Axel Springer – German-based owner of Politico, Morning Brew and Business Insider – has acquired Bisnow, a B2B commercial real estate media and events company from PE owner The Wicks Group. Founded in 2005 by Mark Bisnow and acquired by The Wicks Group in 2016 for around $50mn, Bisnow hosts more than 400 live events each year in 47 local markets across North America, UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. The acquisition has prompted a restructure with the formation of The Brew Media Group, although Bisnow and Morning Brew will operate as separate companies.
Two more deals for Terrapinn
Terrapinn has announced a longterm partnership with Australia’s Smart Energy Council (SEC) for their Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition, Australia’s longest running event for the solar, storage and renewable energy sectors. This is a long-term business – the next edition of the annual conference in May this year will be the 64th iteration – and it joins Terrapinn’s fast-growing portfolio of Solar and Storage events. Although all the existing shows are branded Solar and Storage Live, the Australian event will continue as The Smart Energy Conference and Exhibition.
SEC will retain strategic program oversight, industry convening leadership and content direction while Terrapinn will lead event delivery and investment, a clue that this is probably more of an acquisition than a straight commercial partnership (which is more in keeping with Terrapinn’s business development philosophy). Last week’s Flashes & Flames tracked the importance to Terrapinn of what is now a portfolio of 20 Solar and Storage events accounting for $50mn of revenue, 30% of total revenue for the group (see below).
Terrapinn’s second deal of the year is the acquisition of FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage, an annual event in Santa Clara, California, dedicated to memory and storage technologies. The event, acquired from Conference Concepts Inc was launched in 2006 as the Flash Memory Summit and changed its name in 2024. FMS attracts leading semiconductor manufacturers, system architects and hyper-scalers and, according to CEO Greg Hitchen, represents a pivotal moment as the industry faces an “unprecedented mismatch” in supply and demand, driven by the rapid expansion of AI and the surge in demand for High-Bandwidth Memory.
Weiner’s latest move
Jonathan Weiner’s pedigree as founder of Money20/20 (sold to i2i Events Group which subsequently became Ascential and Informa) and Shoptalk, HLTH and ViVE (sold to Hyve) Group) puts him at the forefront of creating community engagement through events. Weiner subsequently co-founded HumanX in 2023, along with fellow entrepreneur Stefan Weitz – an AI focussed community and conference with the first edition taking place in 2025. Now the duo have acquired The Nest Campus, the US-based climate-focused event which was founded in 2019 as The Nest and subsequently renamed The Nest Climate Campus. The challenge? In September 2025, speaking at the UN General Assembly, US President Trump described climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated in the world” and several other countries including Argentina, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand and the UK have delayed their net zero plans. Maybe with this in mind, Weiner and Weitz have broadened out the event, renaming it The Nest Campus and positioning it at the intersection of capital, technology, and implementation as the marketplace for the global Resilience Economy.
Weiner is also a board member of the Events Venture Group (EVG) whose investments in founder-led businesses have been well documented in Dealmakers over the last couple of years. EVG has also announced a strategic partnership with US-based media-tech-events investment bank JEGI LEONIS. The movement to support founders with capital, management and strategic advisory support is gathering pace and the new financial partnership seems to make good sense.
