Informa buys Dubai Airshow owner Tarsus Group for £793m as FTSE 100 group continues global expansion
- Tarsus manages the biennial Dubai Airshow, one of the largest airshows in the world
- Informa said its profit from continuing operations more than tripled last year
- The FTSE 100 company has declared a further £275million increase to its share buyback program
Informa has revealed the £793m acquisition of Tarsus Group as the group puts capital to work after a resurgence of in-person events.
The FTSE 100 company said the purchase of Tarsus from current owner Charterhouse Capital Partners would bring more than 160 business-to-business events under its heading.
These include the biennial Dubai Airshow, one of the largest airshows in the world, as well as the LabelExpo series of global events and several infrastructure and healthcare related exhibitions in Asia and America. North.
Takeover: Exhibition planner Informa has agreed to buy Tarsus Group for £793m
Funding for the deal will be provided by cash and the issuance of $210m of new shares, and an additional $45m of shares will be paid out should Informa’s share price reach 850p in a two-year period.
Informa expects the purchase to generate approximately $20 million in annual operational benefits through savings in areas such as real estate, procurement and technology.
Completion of the transaction is expected to take place in early July amid a continued rebound in live exposures, which have been heavily disrupted for much of the previous three years.
The return of numerous events last year helped the London-based company’s annual profit from continuing operations more than triple to £168.8m and boosted revenue by 43% to 2, £3 billion.
Its three B2B Markets segments saw an increase in underlying sales of more than 40%, while its net debt fell by almost £1.2 billion following the disposal of its business intelligence portfolio. business.
Proceeds from the disposals were also used to expand the company’s share buyback program to £725m. On Thursday, Informa said another £275m increase to the scheme.
Chief Executive Stephen A. Carter said the group was “firmly back in growth”. Revenue growth, earnings growth, cash flow growth, and most importantly, shareholder return growth.”
Some of the trade shows organized by Informa include the Fan Expo series of conventions, Arab Health, World of Concrete, the Game Developers Conference and the Monaco Yacht Show.
Many of these exposures returned to normal last year, unlike Informa’s Chinese operations, which remained significantly affected by lockdown policies.
The company noted that the gradual easing of Covid-19 restrictions in China was producing a “strong rebound in business activity”, although it does not expect a full exhibition schedule until next year.
For 2023, it expects revenue to rise by around a fifth to between £2.75bn and £2.85bn, while adjusted operating profits of £675m to £725m pounds sterling are planned.
Informa shares were up 2.9% at 699p on Thursday morning, meaning their value has risen by just under a third in the past 12 months.
