Business & Markets
Informa to buy Clarion for $3 billion as it reviews Taylor & Francis options
The events deal would add more than 100 business brands and is expected to close late in 2026. Informa has not chosen how to separate Taylor & Francis; it plans to report review findings in March 2027.
Executive summary
- The acquisition: Informa agreed to buy Clarion Events from Blackstone for an enterprise value of £2.24 billion, or about $3 billion. The acquisition is expected to close toward the end of the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory clearances.[1][2]
- A second strategic move: Informa launched a process to review options for separating academic publisher Taylor & Francis, whose annual revenue is approaching $1 billion. The company said it would report the review's outcome alongside full-year results in March 2027; it has not announced a transaction structure.[1][2][3]
- How it will be funded: Informa said it would use committed acquisition financing and about £940 million from an equity placing and retail offer, equal to roughly 9% of its issued share capital, and pause its share buyback program.[1][2]
Informa agreed to acquire Clarion Events from Blackstone for an enterprise value of £2.24 billion, or about $3 billion, the companies announced Tuesday. Clarion operates more than 100 business-to-business event brands, Informa said, in categories that include electronics, defense and security, gaming, energy and technology. The acquisition would enlarge a portfolio that Informa says already includes more than 800 brands.[1][2][3]
Informa said Clarion's brands include IFA Berlin, the DSEI defense and security exhibition and ICE gaming events. It expects the acquisition to close toward the end of the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals. The transaction has been agreed but has not closed.[1][2]
Alongside the purchase, Informa formally launched a review of options to separate Taylor & Francis, its academic publishing business. The company said the unit has annual revenue approaching $1 billion and underlying revenue growth of about 4%. It plans to report the review's outcome with its 2026 full-year results in March 2027.[1][2][3]
Informa described the process as a review of all options and did not specify a structure or announce a buyer. A sale or spin-off therefore remains an outcome to be determined, not a completed or announced transaction. The proposed separation would shift the group's focus toward business markets and live events, while giving Taylor & Francis greater independence if a separation proceeds.[1][2]
Informa said it would fund the cash consideration with committed acquisition financing and net proceeds of an approximately £940 million equity placing and retail offer. The raise represents about 9% of the company's issued ordinary share capital. Informa also said it would pause its share buyback program to redirect capital toward the deal.[1][2][3]
The company's release valued Clarion at 11.1 times its expected 2027 EBITDA before synergies. Informa forecast about £50 million in annual operating cost savings and, by 2029, £25 million in annual additional operating profit from revenue growth. Those are management estimates rather than realized results. Reuters reported that Informa shares rose 4% on the announcement day.[1][2]