Tarsus Group, a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange, has received an offer and reached agreement with Charterhouse Capital Partners, a U.K. based private equity firm that previously owned Paris-based exhibitions company Comexposium.

Under the offer, Tarsus shareholders will receive 425 pence in cash per share plus the final dividend for 2018 of 7.7p per share, subject to its approval by shareholders at the upcoming AGM.

Commenting on the acquisition, Neville Buch, Tarsus’s Chairman, said:

"I am delighted to announce that the Independent Tarsus Directors have reached agreement with Charterhouse on the Acquisition. We believe that the Acquisition provides significant value for Tarsus’s shareholders, whilst ensuring that Tarsus can continue its journey as a leading exhibitions business with an owner that can provide the capital and industry experience to support Tarsus’s future growth. We believe that the Acquisition is in the interests of Tarsus’s shareholders, employees and customers and we look forward to seeing Tarsus continue to grow going forward."

Douglas Emslie, Tarsus’s Group Managing Director, as well as the company’s Group Finance Director, Dan O’Brien, and Group Company Secretary & Head of Corporate Affairs, Simon Smith, will be maintaining their executive appointments in the company.

Charterhouse believes that the global exhibitions market is an attractive sector with strong growth drivers, margins and cash generation and that, with its portfolio of market-leading brands and "must attend" B2B events, Tarsus is very well-positioned for growth.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Robert Leeming, Partner at Charterhouse, said:

"We are delighted to invest in Tarsus Group and to support Doug and the management team in continuing the impressive growth they have achieved over the past years. They have built a wonderful business with leading exhibitions in growth sectors across the globe. We are committed to growing the business further, and supporting it with additional capital and expertise to accelerate its growth trajectory in the future."

Charterhouse is one of the longest established private equity firms operating in Europe.

The PE firm typically invests in companies headquartered in Western Europe and works closely with incumbent management teams, providing them with active support to drive growth. Charterhouse pursues a highly selective investment approach, partnering with a small number of high-quality companies.

Charterhouse is based in London and is a partnership of highly experienced investment professionals.

Since the early 1980s, Charterhouse funds have completed more than 140 transactions with aggregate value in excess of €50 billion ($63 billion).

Tarsus Group is an international business-to-business media group with interests in exhibitions, publishing and online media. 

Tarsus operates globally in the United States and Americas, China, South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Turkey and Europe, in key verticals including aviation, medical, labels and packaging, travel, housewares and automotive.

Tarsus runs more than 160 events with a number of flagship brands including Labelexpo, Connect and the Dubai Airshow, among others. Tarsus operates across a worldwide network of offices in Dublin, London, Jakarta, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Boca Raton (Florida), Dubai, Shanghai and Istanbul.