The M&A momentum in December that pushed 2025 into the busiest year for transactions since 2019 has continued in January with nine reported transactions. The Easyfairs’ acquisition of Dutch event ShowUp was covered in last month’s Dealmakers, but we have plenty more to get our teeth into.
Informa-Dubai World Trade Centre JV
When Informa CEO Stephen Carter announced his relocation to Dubai, he was quick to point out that it was a business decision (not a personal tax one) because a significant and growing amount of Informa’s activity is in the Middle East and Asia (36% of revenue). The subsequent announcement of a merger of Informa’s B2B Live Events business in the UAE and wider IMEA region with the Dubai World Trade Centre’s (DWTC) B2B Live Events business to form “inD” supports this position and brings 10 months of hard work to a close since plans to collaborate were first announced. The combined business is expected to generate US$ 650mn in 2026 and, to put that in perspective, this would be enough to put the JV in 5th place in the STAX Top 20 exhibition organisers based on 2024 revenues. You can read Colin Morrison’s deepdive on the deal and its place in Informa’s strategy elsewhere in this week’s Flashes & Flames.
The first US acquisition of 2026
Diversified Communications, of the US, has been quiet on the M&A front recently. But it has led off 2026 with the acquisition of Marine Money, a well-known brand in ship finance. It had been founded in 1987 by US based International Marketing Strategies as a niche maritime finance media, events and publishing brand focused on ship finance, dealmaking and maritime investments. The business produces a quarterly magazine, newsletters, research, and hosts industry events. Diversified’s maritime portfolio already includes International Workboat Show, Pacific Marine Expo, National Fisherman, and Workboat Magazine.
The UK fights back
There were several UK transactions in January which may help to redress the balance after the dominance of the US in 2025.
- Media 10 has acquired Futurebuild from Easyfairs and will co-locate it with their UK Construction Week to create “a UK built environment super-event”. Futurebuild has had a long and chequered history – it was originally launched in 2005 as Ecobuild by David Wood and famously acquired by UBM in 2011 for £31mn in initial cash paid on completion of the acquisition, plus a further £20mn of performance-based consideration payable over the following 12 months. Fifteen years ago, that was a lot of money for a single show, but UBM talked about its plans to double the show’s size, expand its footprint internationally through geo-clones and integrate it with UBM’s other construction brands. But the show declined and, in 2017, UBM sold the Ecobuild business to Futurebuild Events, a new company set up by Martin Hurn, long-standing Ecobuild brand director. The sale was for a nominal sum and UBM booked a loss in their accounts of £35.1mn, suggesting that little of the performance-based consideration had been paid. The show was rebranded Futurebuild and, in 2019, was sold to Easyfairs. Meanwhile, Media 10 launched UK Construction Week in 2010 and quickly became the UK’s largest built environment exhibition. Last year, it acquired the Stone Show & Hard Surfaces from QMJ Group and co-located it with UK Construction Week. Its acquisition of Futurebuild looks like the final piece of the jigsaw.
- Montgomery Group has acquired UK based Halldale Group, a global media and events group founded more than 30 years ago and serving the aviation training, simulation and safety community. The events side of the business consists of the Aviation Training Summits run in the US (Orlando), Europe (Portugal) and Asia (Thailand) and the publishing/online includes Civil Aviation Training and Military Simulation & Training. This is a new sector for Montgomery and chairman Damion Angus explained that he is seeking to develop new event formats with diversified revenue streams. When he came across Halldale, he wasn’t specifically focused on the aviation market, but on the potential to grow in the US, SE Asia and Europe.
- PE firm Bridgepoint has acquired a minority stake in Exile Group, provider of proprietary intelligence and events for the commodities, project, export, trade, and development finance sectors. The partnership is designed to accelerate Exile Group’s next phase of growth, focusing on expansion in the US market, both organically and through M&A. Their events include Global 2025: Export, Agency & Project Finance, the TXF Export Finance Dealmakers Assembly focused on export finance and the Agency, Energy & Infrastructure Finance events in the US and Asia.
- After a series of strategic investments in nascent US events, Event Venture Group has shown its faith in the UK market with its investment in The Longevity Show which launches at London’s Tobacco Dock in June this year. The co-founders are: Phil Newman, who founded the global media platform LongevityTechnology with its daily longevity briefings, and Carolyn Dawson, CEO of Founders Forum Group. It’s a B2B executive conference, a consumer event with an exhibition, workshops and product discovery and an awards program. Perhaps a hybrid pointer to the future of niche operators?
- RM Communications, the media and communications investment vehicle led by Rob McLoughlin, has acquired Prolific North, a news, jobs and events hub for the media, digital, marketing, tech and creative sectors in the North of England. Founded in 2013 by journalist Mark Dickinson and entrepreneur Nick Jaspan, it comprises a daily newsletter and portfolio of events and awards including Digital City Festival, Prolific North Live, the Champions Awards, Creative Awards, Marketing Awards and the Tech Awards.
Are organisers finally embracing M&A in China post-Covid?
There was a time when China was a hot market for international organisers. Then COVID hit. Over the four years from 2022-25, there have been just five acquisitions of Chinese businesses. As a benchmark, there had been no fewer than 14 China transactions during 2018-19. Globus Events (formerly known as VNU Exhibitions Asia) has been the most acquisitive organiser in China since being acquired by PE firm Advent International in February 2024. Its latest transaction is a strategic cooperation agreement with Beijing Qiyang International Exhibition Group including an equity investment in the Qiyang’s series of catering industry exhibitions – the Qiyang Hotpot Exhibition – which take place in Beijing, Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, and Nanjing. This is a new sector for Globus.
Some events services M&A to finish off with.
Last month, I highlighted the growing proportion of event acquisitions in the US – 44% of all transactions in 2025 were for US events. Many of these were made by UK-based organisers such as Hyve, CloserStill and Nineteen Group. Another declaration of intent in the US market has come from Messe Munich which has acquired Tradeshow Logic, a full-service provider offering comprehensive event solutions and trade fair management including strategy, sales, marketing, exhibitor support, logistics and planning. The acquisition follows its launches of Analytica USA and Transport Logistic Americas.
Staying with the event service sector, UK-based Creative Live – a provider of contractor services – has acquired stand building company Event Specialists and Space Studio Graphics from Neil Hampton and Rachel McGowan Kemp. Creative Live has been acquiring contractor companies since Covid, including Creative Hire, Creative Hub, Be Creative and Creative Event Spaces, all of which have been integrated into Creative Live.
