Informa to Buy Clarion for £2.24bn and Spin Off Taylor & Francis
Informa has agreed to buy London-based events organiser Clarion from private equity group Blackstone for £2.24bn on an enterprise value basis, the full price including debt. Proactive Investors The deal was disclosed on 6 October 2026. Clarion is described as a rival events firm to Informa. The Times
The acquisition will add more than 100 events to Informa's portfolio. The Guardian They include the DSEI defence and security exhibit at London's ExCel and AwesomeCon, the comic book and pop culture event in Washington. DSEI runs every two years in London and also in Germany and Japan.
Funding will combine committed loans with money from selling new shares, according to deal documents. Informa Informa will raise £940m through a share placing, or sale of new stock. It said the takeover is expected to lift earnings per share, or profit per share, from 2027.
Informa is headquartered in London and employs 14,000 people. It hosts London Tech Week and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Chief executive Stephen Carter has led the group since 2013.
In parallel, Informa plans to spin off its academic publishing arm Taylor & Francis into a separate company. The business was founded in London in 1852 and joined Informa in 2004. It made about $1bn (£760m) last year.
Looking at what this means for portfolio shape, the deal pairs bigger scale in live events with separation of scholarly publishing. Purchase funding leans on new shares, while the demerger removes a cash-generating publishing asset. The 2027 target for higher earnings gives shareholders a test for near-term dilution against later growth.
The broader context here is concentration around owned event brands and advance bookings. Adding triple-digit event numbers changes the mix quickly. It raises exposure to cyclical exhibitor demand while exiting a steadier subscription business. Risks sit in integration, absorbing the share sale, and managing separation.
Stepping back, different shows run on different cycles. Defence and security events draw different calendars and buyers than fan conventions and tech weeks. Scale can help operations. It does not remove cyclicality. Separation leaves a more focused live-events group. Focus brings clarity. It also brings exposure.
