Informa strikes £2.24bn deal to buy rival Clarion Events from Blackstone

Informa has agreed to acquire rival B2B events group Clarion Events from Blackstone for an enterprise value of £2.24bn ($2.96bn), Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 exhibitions group said it will raise about £940m from shareholders through an equity placing to part-fund the deal, with committed financing covering the remainder. Informa shares dipped 0.4% to 858p on the announcement.

Clarion’s portfolio includes London defence conference DSEI alongside technology, energy and gaming events. Chief executive Lord Carter of Barnes said the combination would underscore Informa as “the UK-listed, international leader in business-to-business live events, with annual group revenues exceeding $6bn and underlying revenue growth of 7 per cent”, The Times noted.

Alongside the deal, Informa launched a formal separation review of its academic publishing arm Taylor & Francis, which is approaching $1bn in annual revenue with growth of around 4%. All options are under review, with an outcome to be announced alongside full-year results in March 2027, The Times noted.

Informa said the acquisition should deliver mid-single digit adjusted diluted earnings per share enhancement in 2027 and a double-digit post-tax return on invested capital within three years. The group backed its 2026 guidance of 6% underlying revenue growth and double-digit growth in underlying earnings per share.