In the largest post-pandemic exhibition acquisition deal by far, Informa has bought Tarsus Group from private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners for $940 million. The acquisition was funded with cash and $210m of new Informa shares.

"We have long admired the Tarsus business which, like Informa, has been built around major brands in attractive, specialist B2B markets in the growing regions of Asia, China, the Middle East and the Americas,” said Informa Group CEO Stephen A. Carter.

The Informa Board believes the combination is both commercially and financially compelling, with strong portfolio alignment that will deliver enhanced value for customers, additional opportunities for colleagues and attractive returns for shareholders.

Douglas Emslie, CEO of Tarsus Group, said, “I am extremely proud of the Tarsus business, our people and our customers. I could not think of a better partner than Informa to lead our brands and colleagues through the next phase of growth and expansion.”

Tarsus Group was a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange before it was bought by Charterhouse in 2019.

"We are proud to have supported Tarsus’ development since 2019 and are confident that Informa is exceptionally well placed to deliver the next stage of the company’s growth strategy,” said Charterhouse Partner Robert Leeming. “We look forward to becoming a shareholder.”

A combination programme will be run through January 2024 that has the following three key objectives:

Deliver: Maximize 2023 performance, minimizing disruption and distraction in what is a key year of return, growth and acceleration for Live B2B Events;

Discover: Make growth-focused people, brand and business combination decisions;

Combine: Ensure the portfolios enter 2024 successfully, operating as one company under the Informa brand.

Informa COO Mark Temple-Smith will step in as executive chair of Tarsus from completion through to the end of the Combination Programme in January 2024. Temple-Smith formerly was the CEO of Asia for Tarsus.

Emslie will become a senior advisor to the Informa Group through the Combination Programme, guiding on talent, brands and partnerships.

The combination of Tarsus with Informa is expected to generate c.$20m annualized operating synergies by 2025 through efficiencies in procurement, real estate, technology, event contracts and other areas.

The combination also is expected to deliver incremental revenue benefits through cross marketing of Brands, digital expansion and new event launches, as well as harvesting first party data from Tarsus into IIRIS.

Tarsus launched in 1998 and under the leadership of Emslie has grown to more than 160 events globally in the United States, Mexico, China, South East Asia, the Middle East, Turkey and Europe in key verticals, including aviation, medical, labels and packaging, travel, housewares and automotive.

Since the Charterhouse acquisition in 2019, the Tarsus portfolio has been expanded and enhanced through 24 new launches and 11 targeted acquisitions.

Like Informa, Tarsus is seeing a similar strong return to the market for Live and On-Demand B2B Events in 2023.

The Tarsus business also significantly benefits from biennial events in odd numbered years, including the Dubai Airshow and LabelExpo Europe.