By Radhika Anilkumar
(Reuters) – British events organiser Informa said on Thursday it will acquire business-to-business events group Tarsus for $940 million, and projected 2023 revenue to be closer to pre-pandemic levels helped by a recovery in China.
The acquisition of London head-quartered Tarsus – a company that Informa has tried to buy twice before – will help expand the events organiser’s reach in the United States, Asia and Middle East, Informa Chief Executive Officer Stephen Carter told Reuters on Thursday.
“The company continues to grow and 2024 will be the first normalised year and in that year we will be noticeably bigger than pre-pandemic,” Carter said.
As China reopens from COVID lockdowns, Carter expects the region to trade at a “real pace” in six months and return to pre-COVID levels next year.
The events industry is recovering from a pandemic-driven slump that forced the cancellation of hundreds of shows and conferences amid lockdowns and travel curbs.
Informa expects group revenue for this year to be 2.75-2.85 billion pounds ($3.26 billion- $3.38 billion), around the 2.89 billion pounds it reported in 2019 before the onset of the pandemic, it said in a statement.
Shares of the company were up 2.4% at 696.2 pence at 0907 GMT.
($1 = 0.8424 pounds)
(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru, Sarah Young; editing by James Davey)
