Clifford Chance, Kirkland & Ellis and A&O Shearman advised on Informa’s £2.24 billion acquisition of Clarion Events.
Informa PLC agreed to acquire Clarion Events, the world’s largest privately owned event and exhibition organiser, from Blackstone for an enterprise value of approximately £2.24 billion. The acquisition is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory clearances.
The transaction will expand Informa’s presence in B2B live events, including the Electronics, Defence/Security and Gaming sectors.
It will be funded through a combination of acquisition financing and an equity issue raising approximately £940 million.
Clifford Chance advised Informa PLC on the acquisition.
The cross-practice team was led by M&A and Informa relationship Partners Steven Fox and Katherine Moir, with support from Corporate Partners Erik O’Connor and Olivia Higgs, and Senior Associate Jennifer Xue.
The wider team included Partners Julia House (Finance), Simon Thomas and Kate Vyvyan (Capital Markets), Chinwe Odimba-Chapman (Employment), Sonia Gilbert (Incentives), Rebecca Trapp (Pensions), Nicola Hemsley (Tax), Don McCombie (IP), Zayed Al Jamil (Tech Digital), Michael Rueter (Counsel), Brian Conklin and Dimitri Slobodenjuk (Antitrust), Michael Lyons (Compliance), Guy Burkitt (Litigation), Angela Kearns (Real Estate) and Adam Hedley (Environmental and Regulatory).
Kirkland & Ellis advised Blackstone on the sale of Clarion Events.
The team included Corporate lawyers Greg Scott, David Higgins, Chris Connolly, Oliver Weighill and Joseph Defries; Debt Finance lawyers Leon Daoud, Natasha Smith, Nick Parker and Aman Nath; and Tax lawyers Mavnick Nerwal, Anthony Antioch and Bryan Leighton.
A&O Shearman advised the underwriters on Informa’s equity placing and the lender on the accompanying committed bridge financing.
The equity issue raised gross proceeds of approximately £938 million through an institutional placing, a retail offer and a subscription by eligible directors and executive management.
The team was led by Corporate Partner Maegen Morrison, alongside Associates James Strange, Kabir Singh Randeva and Sheryl Tan.
The Debt Finance team was led by Global Head of Fund Finance Greg Brown, with Senior Associate Marianne Mendes Webber and Associate Iris Owyong. Global Co-Head of US Capital Markets and Global ECM Adam Wells advised on US securities law, alongside Senior Associate Katrien Wilmots, and Partner Lydia Challen provided tax advice.
