Informa report as follows:
Informa has announced plans to separate its Academic business, Taylor & Francis, focusing the Group on its core B2B business. Additionally, it is further reinforcing its position as the leading operator of B2B Live Events through the acquisition of Clarion in a £2.24bn combination that lifts revenues, accelerates growth and enhances earnings per share from 2027.
Stephen A. Carter, group chief executive, Informa, said earlier this week: “Informa is today accelerating the focus on our core B2B business, as we announce plans to separate our Academic Markets business, Taylor & Francis.”
“The planned separation of Taylor & Francis coincides with further expansion in B2B through the £2.24bn acquisition of Clarion, the UK-based owner of more than 100 B2B Live Event brands. The combination will underscore Informa as the UK-listed, international leader in B2B Live Events, with annual Group revenues exceeding $6bn and underlying revenue growth of 7%±.”
“Today’s announcements mark the latest step in a growth strategy that has seen B2B revenues grow tenfold since 2014, whilst generating more than $3bn of value in Business Intelligence and lifting Taylor & Francis revenues fourfold since it joined the Group.”
He added: “With Taylor & Francis approaching $1bn in revenue, growing at 4%± and with its Open Research capabilities firmly established, we believe it will now benefit from greater flexibility and freedom through the next phase of its development, as Informa further expands the depth and reach of its B2B portfolio.”
Highlights
- Growth & Scale in the B2B Market. Informa continues to build depth and capability in B2B Live Events, with related revenues expanding more than tenfold over the last 13+ years. Post Clarion, B2B Live Events will generate revenues over £4.2bn/$5.7bn across c.1,000 specialist B2B brands in more than 40 market categories and 30+ countries;
- Portfolio Focus - Academic Markets. With Academic revenues approaching $1bn, growing at 4%±, and with a clear forward strategy, we have launched a separation process, reviewing all options that will best support the future growth and development of the business. The outcomes of this review will be reported alongside the Group’s 2026 Full Year Results in March 2027;
- Addition of Clarion.
- Strong Financial Returns. Clarion is being acquired from Blackstone for an enterprise value of £2.24bn, representing a multiple of 11.1x 2027 expected EBITDA, or c.9x including cost-synergies and c.8x including cost and revenue synergies. The addition is expected to deliver mid-single digit adjusted diluted EPS enhancement in 2027 and double-digit post-tax return on invested capital within three years, ahead of Informa’s WACC;
- Scale entry into Growth Categories. The addition of Clarion brings a leading portfolio of 100+ B2B brands, including eight Marquee brands (revenue $30m+) and eight Power Brands ($10m<$30m). This will take Informa’s portfolio of Marquee/Power Brands to 100+. Specifically, Informa gains immediate scale entry into three high growth strategic categories – Electronics (including the world’s largest consumer electronics event, IFA Berlin), Defence/Security (leading international brand, DSEI) and Gaming (global leader, ICE, in Barcelona) It also deepens our existing offerings in Technology (including leading insurance tech brand, ITC Vegas) and Energy (including North America’s largest energy transmission/distribution brand, Distributech). This will increase the number of category franchises generating $50m+ to more than 20;
- Further depth in Growth Geographies.The Clarion portfolio also brings geographic complementarity, adding further depth in North America and Asia and significantly strengthening Informa’s European position. Given Clarion’s minimal presence in IMEA, there are significant opportunities for geo-locating and syndicating brands into the region using Informa’s established infrastructure and relationships;
- Compounding Growth through One Informa. The combination of Clarion’s 100+ brands with Informa’s B2B platform creates significant opportunities to deliver cost and revenue synergies, with a particular focus on the international syndication and geo-adaptation of brands, cross-marketing and broader One Informa growth initiatives including lead generation, non-endemic sponsorship, digital/data services, and hotel / city partnerships;
- Continuing growth in 2026. Informa continues to deliver good growth in 2026, with ongoing strength in the Americas, Europe and Asia, including in Cyber Security (Black Hat), Pharma (CPHI Worldwide) and Jewellery (Jewellery & Gem World). In IMEA, we have run more than 20 brands, representing $200m± of revenue, since the Half-Year Results, including a return to Live Events in the Middle East in categories such as Power (Middle East Energy in Dubai), Technology (Leap in Riyadh) and Cybersecurity (GISEC in Dubai). This performance and strong visibility into Q4 ($1bn+ Group revenues booked and committed) underpins full year guidance for 6%± underlying revenue growth and double-digit growth in underlying earnings per share2;
- Accelerating growth in 2027 and beyond. Like Informa, Clarion’s growth rate is ahead of the B2B Events market. Combined, the B2B Live Events business is expected to be a 7%+ underlying growth operator, underpinned by its geographic reach and leadership in growth market categories;
- Financing & De-leveraging. The addition of Clarion will be funded through a mixture of committed acquisition financing and the net proceeds of a c.£940m equity placing (c.9% of Informa’s issued ordinary share capital), comprising a non-pre-emptive equity placing of ordinary shares conducted through an accelerated bookbuild, launched today, and a separate offer to retail investors via the RetailBook platform. Post-completion, pro-forma net debt / EBITDA is expected to remain below 3x at year-end 2026, falling to sub-2.5x by year-end 2027. The acquisition is expected to complete in Q4 2026, subject to customary regulatory clearances;
- Leadership, Board & Major Shareholder Equity Participation. The Executive Directors and Leadership of the Company are fully committed to participate in the placing, alongside the PLC Board, including Chair-Elect Tom Glocer. Informa’s largest institutional shareholder has also expressed its strong and unequivocal support for the Placing. Additionally, Clarion's CEO will rollover a proportion of Clarion equity into Informa equity on completion of the transaction.
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