United Business Media (LON:UBM) said today it is paying US$287 million for trade shows firm Canon Communications.
It is buying the business from Spectrum Equity Investors and Appraise Media, and the deal is the biggest of chief executive David Levin’s tenure.
In the year to June 30, Canon posted revenues of US$106 million. It employs 343 people worldwide.
UBM is paying a 7.8 times EBITDA and says it will fund the transaction from its existing bank facilities.
"The acquisition of Canon is an exciting step for UBM, building on our track record of identifying, completing and integrating value-enhancing acquisitions over the last five years,” Levin said.
“Canon is a great strategic fit for us: it gives us a complementary portfolio of market-leading branded tradeshows and related products which serve highly attractive growth markets experiencing globalisation.
“The combination of Canon's brands with both our worldwide infrastructure and our existing electronic engineering business offers us exciting growth opportunities, particularly in Canon's core medical device design and manufacturing markets.
"The management team, led by Charlie McCurdy, have done a great job in developing the Canon business. I look forward to welcoming Canon's staff to UBM and to working with them as we accelerate Canon's growth."