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Informa has agreed to buy Clarion Events from Blackstone for an enterprise value of £2.24 billion. The acquisition is announced but not complete: it remains subject to customary regulatory approvals, and Informa expects closing toward the end of the fourth quarter of 2026. Separately, Informa has begun reviewing options for Taylor & Francis; it has not chosen or announced a separation plan.
Who is Informa buying from Blackstone?
Informa PLC, the UK-based business information and events group, has agreed to acquire Clarion Events from private-equity firm Blackstone. The agreement was announced on 6 October 2026. Clarion is a UK-based B2B live-events company established in 1947, with more than 100 specialist brands, according to Informa.
Clarion’s portfolio spans electronics, defence and security, gaming, energy and technology. Informa highlighted brands including IFA Berlin, DSEI, ICE, Distributech and ITC. Reuters also identified IFA Berlin among Clarion’s events. Informa’s announcement and Reuters’ report, republished by London South East, describe the transaction and portfolio.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesHow much is Informa paying for Clarion?
Informa announced an enterprise value of £2.24 billion, commonly rounded to £2.2 billion in headlines. Enterprise value is the transaction’s stated overall business value; it is not the same as a simple per-share purchase price. Informa said the value includes certain tax benefits.
The company presented the price against expected 2027 EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. These are Informa’s forecast-based transaction metrics, not guarantees of Clarion’s future performance:
| Informa’s valuation basis | Stated multiple |
|---|---|
| Expected 2027 EBITDA before identified synergies | 11.1× |
| Expected EBITDA including identified cost synergies | About 9× |
| Expected EBITDA including cost and revenue synergies | About 8× |
Synergies are anticipated benefits from combining the businesses. Because the lower multiples include savings or revenue Informa expects to generate after acquisition, they should not be read as the price already achieved on current earnings.
How will Informa pay for the deal?
Informa said it will fund the cash consideration with committed acquisition financing and the net proceeds of an approximately £940 million equity placing and retail offer. The proposed equity raise represents about 9% of Informa’s issued ordinary share capital, according to the company. Informa also said it would pause its existing share buyback and redirect that capital toward the acquisition. Reuters independently reported the planned equity raise.
Why does Informa want Clarion?
Informa says the acquisition will increase the scale and reach of its B2B live-events business and expand its presence in selected growth markets. It pointed to potential cross-marketing, international syndication and geographic adaptation of event brands, as well as opportunities in lead generation, sponsorship, digital and data services, and partnerships with hotels and cities. These are management’s strategic rationale and prospective opportunities, not results established by the deal announcement.
Informa forecasts that the combined B2B live-events business would generate more than £4.2 billion (about $5.7 billion) in revenue across around 1,000 brands, more than 40 market categories and over 30 countries. The company also projected annual group revenue above $6 billion following the announced changes. Those figures are projections, not reported post-acquisition results.
When is the acquisition expected to close?
The purchase is subject to customary regulatory clearances. Informa expected completion toward the end of Q4 2026; as of the 6 October announcement, the transaction remained pending. Regulatory approval and closing are distinct from the agreement itself, so the announced deal should not be described as completed.
Informa also forecast that the acquisition would enhance earnings per share and deliver post-tax return on invested capital above 10% by the third full year of ownership, in 2029. It expects full run-rate operating and revenue synergies by that year and estimated one-off costs of about £50 million to deliver them. These are company expectations; actual timing and outcomes depend on completion and integration.
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Is Informa spinning off Taylor & Francis?
Not yet. Informa has started a formal process to review options for separating Taylor & Francis, its academic publishing business, but it has not announced a decision to spin it off, sell it or use another structure. The company said it expects to report the review’s outcome alongside its 2026 full-year results in March 2027. Reuters reported Taylor & Francis annual revenue approaching $1 billion and growth of about 4%, citing Informa’s figures.
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The Taylor & Francis review is related to Informa’s broader plans but is a separate decision from the Clarion acquisition. Informa’s chief executive Stephen A. Carter framed the two developments together, describing the planned academic-business separation alongside the Clarion expansion; that framing does not mean the separation has been approved.
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