Ascential plc has formally announced the sale of Ascential Exhibitions to ITE group plc for a total cash consideration of £300 million, on a cash and debt free basis, subject to a normalised working capital adjustment. Ascential Exhibitions has a portfolio that includes Spring Fair, Autumn Fair, Glee and Pure.
The sale was originally announced on 15 May 2018 and further details were set out in a circular sent to the Company’s shareholders on 7 June 2018. The Disposal was approved by the Company’s shareholders at a general meeting on 25 June 2018. The official completion date was July 17.
Ascential CEO, Duncan Painter, said: “The divestment of the Exhibitions business is an important step for Ascential. I am pleased that we have found a good home for the Exhibitions
team and would like to thank them for their contribution to Ascential.
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on enabling our customers to succeed in the digital economy, and this sale increases our financial capacity to invest in the future growth of our business.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Shashoua, for CEO of Ascential and now Chief Executive Officer of ITE, said:
“I am delighted to announce the completion of the acquisition of the Ascential Exhibitions business. These events, all of which are market-leading, are well-known to us, and under ITE’s ownership we look forward to treating them as Core, giving them the investment, management focus and international platform they need to grow. This highly complementary portfolio of exhibitions will help to propel us towards our vision of creating the world’s leading portfolio of content-driven, must-attend events that deliver an outstanding experience and return on investment for our customers. I would like to formally welcome all of our new employees to ITE as we look to run the best shows, anywhere in the world.”
ITE Group is one of the world’s leading organisers of international trade exhibitions and conferences, with a portfolio of more than 240 exhibitions and conferences held annually around the world covering different market sectors.
