Informa, the FTSE 100 events and academic publishing group, has agreed to buy the UK-based exhibitions business Clarion from private equity firm Blackstone for an enterprise value (the price including debt) of £2.24 billion.
It also launched a formal process to separate Taylor & Francis, its academic publishing arm, with the outcome to be reported alongside full-year results in March 2027.
The deal values Clarion at 11.1 times its expected 2027 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), falling to about nine times once £50 million of annual cost savings are counted.
Informa expects the purchase to lift adjusted diluted earnings per share by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2027.
It also targets a post-tax return on invested capital above 10% by 2029.
Funding
To part-fund the deal, Informa is raising about £940 million through a share placing, equal to roughly 9% of its issued share capital, alongside a retail offer through the RetailBook platform.
It will pause its share buyback programme to redirect capital to the purchase. Informa expects net debt to stay below three times EBITDA at the end of 2026, falling below 2.5 times by the end of 2027.
Clarion
Clarion, founded in 1947, owns more than 100 business-to-business events brands. They include IFA Berlin, the world's largest consumer electronics show, the DSEI defence and security exhibition, and the ICE gaming event in Barcelona.
The company expects revenues of at least £575 million in 2027, with adjusted operating margins above 30%.
Informa expects its enlarged live events arm to generate revenues above £4.2 billion and to grow underlying revenue by more than 7%.
Stephen Carter, Informa's chief executive, said the deal would underscore the group as "the UK-listed, international leader in B2B Live Events".
Completion is expected towards the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis has revenues approaching $1 billion, growing at about 4% a year, and publishes more than 2,700 peer-reviewed journals.
Carter said the unit would gain "greater flexibility and freedom" from separation, but Informa has not said whether it favours a sale or a spin-off.
Informa said trading remains good and it kept its 2026 guidance of about 6% underlying revenue growth.
