Investing.com -- Informa on Tuesday announced plans to buy events organizer Clarion from Blackstone for an enterprise value of £2.24 billion, or about $3 billion, and said it will separate its Taylor & Francis academic publishing arm to focus on business-to-business events.
The deal values Clarion at 11.1 times expected 2027 EBITDA, falling to about 9 times when £50 million of annual run-rate cost savings are included. Informa expects it to lift adjusted diluted earnings per share by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2027, with a post-tax return on invested capital above 10% by 2029.
Clarion owns more than 100 B2B event brands, including Germany's IFA consumer electronics show, the DSEI defense exhibition and the ICE gaming event in Barcelona. It is expected to generate revenue of more than £575 million in 2027, with adjusted operating margins above 30%.
Informa said the combination would create the leading U.K.-listed B2B events operator, with group revenue above $6 billion and underlying growth of around 7%. It also identified £25 million in additional operating profit from revenue synergies by 2029.
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Informa will fund the purchase with acquisition financing and a roughly £940 million equity raise, equal to about 9% of its share capital, consisting of an institutional placing and a retail offer. It will pause its share buyback. The company expects net debt to EBITDA to stay below 3 times at year-end and fall below 2.5 times by the end of 2027. Completion is expected late in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Taylor & Francis, which has revenue approaching $1 billion and is growing about 4% a year, will go through a formal separation review. The outcome will be reported with full-year results in March 2027. Informa did not say whether it favors a sale or a spin-off.
"With Taylor & Francis approaching $1bn in revenue, growing at 4%± and with its Open Research capabilities firmly established, we believe it will now benefit from greater flexibility and freedom through the next phase of its development, as Informa further expands the depth and reach of its B2B portfolio," said Chief Executive Stephen Carter.
Blackstone bought Clarion in 2017 from Providence Equity Partners for £600 million.
Original Article
Informa to buy Clarion for £2.24 bln, plans to separate Taylor & Francis business
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