On January 8, New York-based private equity firm Clarion Capital Partners completed its acquisition of Marketplace Events (MPE), a leading consumer and trade show organizer that produces more than 110 events across 54 markets in the U.S. and Canada. Terms of the deal, which marks Clarion Capital’s first holding in the events industry, were not disclosed. 

Context: MPE’s extensive portfolio includes just under 70 home and garden shows, 19 sport and outdoor shows, 16 holiday shows, and 11 recently acquired regional trade shows that bring together 30,000 exhibitors, more than 2.2 million consumers, and 5 million unique web visitors annually. MPE organizes some of the longest-running B2C shows in North America, including the Indianapolis Home Show (103 years); the Minneapolis Home + Garden Show (91 years); the Buffalo Home Show (80+ years); and the Salt Lake Home + Garden Show (70+ years). 

Backstory: Founded in 1999, Clarion Capital invests in a diversified portfolio of lower middle-market companies in industries, such as media; entertainment; technology; financial technology and services; business and healthcare services; and consumer and consumer services.  

What they are saying: “We are excited about our investment in Marketplace Events—the clear market leader in the B2C events industry in North America,” said David Ragins, president of private equity for Clarion Capital Partners. “They are quickly developing their expertise across additional end markets while being the acquirer of choice, but it is the value they place on their employees and their strong workplace culture that aligns so well with Clarion’s own vision.”   

Deeper dive: The announcement follows MPE’s June 2024 acquisition of 31 shows from Master Promotions in Canada, the largest acquisition in the organizer’s history. The company also expects to announce six new shows in the next two months, elevating its portfolio to 120 total events, according to MPE officials.  

Why it matters: “We expect our new partnership with Clarion will allow us to accelerate our growth even further and offer new opportunities for our staff, our exhibitors, and partners,” said Marketplace Events CEO Mark White. “We have a long history of buying and growing home and holiday shows, and we are excited to continue on that path while also building out our sport and outdoor business and our new B2B shows. The business has now fully recovered to beyond pre-COVID levels and has never been stronger.” 

Big picture: Clarion Capital’s acquisition of MPE comes as other investment firms have been dipping their toes into the B2C events market in recent years, including Inflexion and Cobepa’s May 2024 purchase of European event organizer Easyfairs and Blackstone’s acquisition of Clarion Events in 2017.  

Clarion Capital officials said MPE was an appealing opportunity due to its majority B2C show catalog, experienced management team, and significant growth potential. 

“Clarion has been following Marketplace Events and the management team since 2016,” they stated, praising leaders Mark and Tom Baugh for transforming the company into a leading aggregator of B2C shows in North America. “Alongside the management team, we hope to continue expanding the Company’s home and garden, holiday and outdoor show portfolio both organically and through acquisitions. We will also be looking to expand the Company’s show end markets. We also believe there is a large opportunity for [MPE] to leverage Clarion’s experience in creating and optimizing sponsorship and digital advertising strategies.”  

The acquisition will not impact MPE’s organizational structure or operations; all 180 employees will retain their current roles. Clarion officials emphasized that both companies value their employees and workplace culture, which aligns well for the partnership, and that they plan to maintain a similar approach to workplace culture at MPE as the company embarks on its next phase of growth. 

TSNN had a chance to sit down with White to hear more about what Clarion Capital’s acquisition means for the B2C show behemoth. 

Can you elaborate on how Marketplace Events plans to leverage its scale and technology to improve the experience for exhibitors and attendees following the acquisition? 

With more than 110 annual events, we are constantly testing, implementing, and changing. Our scale allows us to follow the data to improve our shows for attendees and exhibitors throughout the show season. That size also allows for flexibility of skilled staff and resources, yielding stronger shows for our customers. What’s more, our solid venue relationships enable us to grow our presence within markets, adding shows and thereby providing consumers and exhibitors more opportunities to connect.  

You previously mentioned MPE’s goal of accelerating growth and offering new opportunities. What specific strategies will be implemented to achieve these objectives in the coming months? 

We have been keenly focused on acquisitions and launches coming out of COVID–that has accelerated in the past year and will continue to gain momentum. We have dedicated more resources to growth at the senior level, and we are also leveraging Clarion’s resources as we expand into new markets and add new verticals. At the same time, we are growing revenue streams and adding new ones for our existing shows. All this growth translates into more opportunities for our people. It’s an exciting time for our entire team. 

With MPE’s recent acquisition of 31 shows from Master Promotions and now its acquisition by Clarion Capital, how does MPE plan to integrate these new assets while maintaining its operational structure and employee satisfaction? 

The shows we have been acquiring are healthy shows with long histories of success, and our goal is to build on that success by providing these events with the benefits of our size and culture. Integration is an important part of the acquisition process for us. Our priority is to provide our new team members with the tools, systems, and resources they need and introduce our culture, which is at the center of our DNA. 

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