Informa, an international academic markets, B2B markets and digital services group, has reached agreement with Charterhouse Capital Partners and other shareholders (“the Sellers”) to acquire Tarsus, the leading international B2B group, for an initial enterprise value of $940m. 

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. 

Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive, Informa, said, "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."

Tarsus owns and operates a portfolio of 160+ live and on-demand B2B event brands, with a focus on growing, specialist B2B markets with fragmented supply chains and high levels of innovation.

Informa further strengthens leadership in B2B market through acquisition of Tarsus.

The top 10 Tarsus Brands – attracting a total of c.515k attendees and 8,350+ exhibitors across c.385k net square metres of floor space - will further expand Informa’s tier 1 portfolio to more than 85 brands demonstrating the following characteristics:

• Leading position within market/region

• Brand strength and visibility

• International customer base

• High levels of forward commitments

• Consistent, strong revenue growth

• Volume, price and ancillary revenues

• Revenue scale of US$5m+

Since 2019, when Tarsus plc was acquired by Charterhouse, 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.

Douglas Emslie, Chief Executive, Tarsus, added, ”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.”

They will run a joint combination programme with three key objectives by January 2024:

• Deliver
  Maximise 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