UK business publisher Informa has proposed a £1.2bn acquisition of US-based information and events company Penton.
Informa publishes business information titles Lloyd’s List, Ovum (in telecoms) and Citeline (in healthcare).
The business information side of Informa turned over £278.8m in 2015 with 89 per cent of that revenue coming from subscriptions.
Informa already makes 52 per cent of its business information revenue in the US.
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Last year it made total revenue of £1.2bn and adjusted operating profit of £365.6m.
Its business is split between three divisions: Business Intelligence, Global Exhibitions and Knowledge & Networking.
Informa will be funding the £1,180m deal through a rights issue (creating new shares) worth £715m, giving the seller equity in the business worth £76m and taking on new debt.
Penton is described as an exhibitions and professional information services group with titles which include: Natural Products Expo, Farm Progress, WasteExpo, Equipment Watch and Aviation Week Intelligence Network.
Informa chief executive Stephen Carter said: “The opportunity created through the combination of Informa and Penton balances our portfolio and increases our scale and reach, further improving the predictability and sustainability of our growth performance and cash generation.”
Full announcement from Informa here.
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