US investment fund Apollo today (11 May) has agreed to acquire both the listed trade show group Emerald Holding, Inc. and also the pe-owned Questex, LLC, in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.5bn. It intends to combine the businesses “to create a leading North American B2B experiential events and media platform”.
Emerald-Questex will together have a revenue of at least $650mn, making it probably the world’s fifth or sixth largest trade show operator. The transaction values Emerald at c$1bn and Questex at some $500mn.
The $1.5bn deal, incidentally, combines two US trade show businesses which are thought to have variously been seeking either to sell or merge, for the past two years. It comes just two weeks after the record-breaking $1.77bn acquisition of CloserStill (see below). Together, the two deals – totalling more than $3.25bn – may just usher in a long-awaited period of trade show consolidation, perhaps even including the $1.5-2bn Blackstone-owned Clarion Events whose possible divestment is believed to have been forestalled last year by the disruption of US tariff and trade policies.
Emerald is the world’s ninth largest organizer of B2B exhibitions and the largest US-owned one. But its $415mn domestic revenue makes it significantly smaller in North America than the UK-based Informa ($1.5bn revenue in the US) and RX ($500mn). Some 50% of all US trade show revenue is estimated to be events owned by trade associations.
Emerald is the product of former trade show companies, including Miller Freeman, George Little Management (GLM), VNU and Nielsen. It had been acquired for $950mn from Nielsen by the Canada-based Onex and IPOd in 2017 – the year before Informa became the world’s largest trade show group. Emerald has since made some 30 acquisitions totalling an estimated $1.3bn, including an estimated $500mn on 10 deals since the pandemic under CEO Herve Sedky who was appointed in 2021.
Questex is primarily an events company (accounting for 70% of revenue) but just 10% of its portfolio comprises five trade shows. The large majority of its events are ‘confexes’ – and then there is the 30% of revenue from newsletters and information services. Its strategy has been to integrate its products and services in each of its four sectors: Life Sciences/ Healthcare and Hospitality, together accounting for 70% of revenue and Wellness and Experiential Technology for the rest.
Significantly, the Questex revenue divides between: exhibition space and event sponsorship (55%), digital newsletters (25%) and visitor/delegates (20%). It’s genuinely multi-channel and CEO Paul Miller (ex UBM and Penton) is committed to building both information and events products. He is also keener on hybrid confex events than mainstream trade shows – which might produce differing valuations especially by pureplay trade show organisers like Easyfairs.
In many ways, the Questex distinctiveness stems from the digital revenue generated by its Fierce Markets whose Life Sciences and tech newsletters and account for some $30mn – more than doubled since 2019. But its sheer level of innovation and new launches (more than a dozen new brands in the last few years) is fed by its strong centralisation of databases, audience management and systems, with relatively small but focused brand teams.
Under the terms of the agreement, Emerald shareholders will receive $5.03 per share in cash, representing a 42.1% premium to Emerald’s unaffected share price as of December 15, 2025, The Emerald Board unanimously approved the transaction. Onex owns over 90% of Emerald and is supporting the deal.
“As AI and digital tools rapidly expand the ways professionals connect and share information, they are simultaneously elevating the value of trusted, in-person gatherings, where industries come together to do business, build relationships, and make consequential decisions,” said Shahid Bosan, Managing Director at Apollo. “Bringing together Emerald and Questex would create a scaled, highly complementary platform that is well positioned to capture that demand. We believe the combined business will benefit from the strength of both organizations’ teams, differentiated content, deep customer relationships, and proven 365-day engagement model, giving the platform a distinct ability to serve its communities year-round and drive sustained growth.”
Kosty Gillis, Onex managing director and Chair of Emerald said: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the Apollo Funds, which delivers compelling and immediate value to Emerald shareholders at a meaningful premium,” said This is the result of a rigorous and comprehensive review of strategic alternatives that commenced last year, and the Board is confident Apollo is the right partner to take Emerald into its next chapter of growth.”
Emerald’s Sedky said: “Over the past several years, we have transformed the portfolio with a clear focus on higher-growth, market-leading brands, building a more diversified mix of events and the strongest portfolio in our history. We believe the acquisition by Apollo Funds and the subsequent combination with Questex will provide the enhanced resources, strategic support, and long-term capital to accelerate our growth and deliver lasting value for our customers, employees, and stakeholders.”
Questex CEO Miller said: “We are excited to partner with Apollo and combine with Emerald to accelerate and scale our business model. Questex has built a differentiated experiential platform centered on year-round engagement and high-value customer communities, and we believe this combination creates a compelling opportunity to drive growth through innovation, digital integration, and strategic initiatives.”
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The CEO of the combined Emerald-Questex business and/or the future roles of Paul Miller and Herve Sedky have not been disclosed.
