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The private equity owner of UK-based events group CloserStill is exploring a sale of the company later this year, amid a spate of dealmaking in conference businesses after the pandemic.
Providence Equity Partners, which acquired CloserStill in 2018, is in early-stage deliberations about a potential sale that could value the company at more than £1bn, according to people familiar with the matter.
However, the people said no decisions had been taken and that plans could yet shift. A sale process for CloserStill would mark the latest deal in the events sector, which has seen a flurry of activity in recent months.
After facing a bevvy of cancellations because of global lockdowns, the events industry has bounced back strongly to exceed pre-Covid levels as businesses flock back to in-person conferences and awards shows.
That has led to a flurry of dealmaking in the sector, with the US private equity group Blackstone exploring a sale of its UK-headquartered events business Clarion with bankers at Goldman Sachs. The sale process is set to kick off in the first quarter of this year.
Clarion, which Blackstone acquired from Providence, runs conferences in areas such as electronics and digital marketing. Chief executive Lisa Hannant told the Financial Times last year that the group was planning acquisitions to capitalise on booming demand for conferences.
Last July Informa, a UK-based events and academic publisher, acquired Ascential, which owns global conferences including advertising festival Cannes Lions, in a deal worth close to £1.2bn.
Other recent transactions have included last June’s deal by KKR to buy UK-based Superstruct Entertainment from Providence Equity Partners. The company behind European music festivals such as Hungary’s Sziget and Germany’s Wacken Open Air was valued at about €1.3bn, the FT reported.
Providence, based in Rhode Island, has been an active investor in events businesses. The group also acquired UK events and conferences company Hyve alongside investor Searchlight in 2023.
CloserStill offers events for professionals across business technologies, infrastructure and transportation, and healthcare. That includes conferences focused on data centres, industrial vehicle technology and dentistry.
Providence declined to comment.
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