Informa Bets £2.24B on Events, Plans Publishing Separation

The Clarion acquisition and planned separation of Taylor & Francis show where one of the world's largest B2B information companies sees its strongest opportunities for growth.

Informa has agreed to acquire Clarion Events from private equity firm Blackstone in a deal valuing the business at £2.24 billion (approximately $3 billion), while preparing to separate Taylor & Francis, its academic publishing operation. The October 6 announcements show where the UK-based company sees greater growth potential: established industry events and the commercial services it can build around their audiences.

The acquisition would expand an events business that already accounts for nearly three-quarters of Informa's revenue. It also comes as the company reviews how to separate a profitable publisher with substantial subscription revenue. Behind both decisions is a question familiar to executives managing established businesses: where should a company invest to generate its next stage of growth?

Informa Sees More Opportunity in Events

Clarion operates more than 100 event brands in industries including electronics, defense, gaming and energy. Its portfolio includes IFA Berlin, the ICE gaming exhibition in Barcelona and DSEI, a major defense and security exhibition.

The acquisition would give Informa approximately 1,000 live-event brands serving more than 40 industries across 30 countries. The company expects the combined events operation to generate more than £4.2 billion in annual revenue, with underlying growth of at least 7%.

Informa has been building this business for years. CEO Stephen Carter told investors that the company began pursuing a strategy of buying and developing major B2B events about 13 to 14 years ago. It even explored a possible arrangement with Clarion in 2013 or 2014, although the companies did not reach an agreement then.

During the October 6 investor presentation, Carter described how the events business is evolving beyond selling exhibition space. Organizers are increasingly expected to connect exhibitors and sponsors with people who may buy their products or services.

For Informa, that means knowing who attends its events, what those people are interested in and how businesses can reach them. That knowledge can support marketing services, lead generation and other products that customers use throughout the year.

Traditional exhibition and sponsorship revenue still dominates Informa's events business. Its newer marketing and lead-generation services represent a much smaller share, leaving room for the company to expand those offerings.

Clarion brings established brands and industry relationships that Informa believes it can develop further, including introducing events into new countries and selling additional services to existing customers.

The Growth Informa Is Buying

Informa's events business generated approximately £3 billion in revenue in 2025, with underlying growth of 9.5%.

Clarion is expected to generate more than £575 million in revenue in 2027, with adjusted operating margins above 30%. About £100 million of that projected revenue reflects events held every other year, making 2027 a particularly strong year in Clarion's event calendar.

Informa expects to save approximately £50 million annually by combining the businesses. It is also targeting another £25 million in annual operating profit from new revenue opportunities. The full annual benefits are expected by 2029, and Informa estimates approximately £50 million in one-time costs to achieve them.

Those expectations help explain the size of the investment. Informa believes it can grow Clarion's established brands, expand them internationally and generate more revenue from the businesses already participating in its events.

The company announced a successful equity raise of approximately £940 million on October 6 to help finance the transaction, with the remaining funding coming from acquisition financing. It has also paused its share repurchase program.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

Why Separate Taylor & Francis?

The decision to separate Taylor & Francis is especially interesting because academic publishing remains a profitable business for Informa.

Taylor & Francis generated £670.8 million in revenue in 2025, including £384.2 million from subscriptions. Subscription revenue increased from £368.8 million the previous year.

Total reported revenue, however, declined 3.9% from 2024, partly because the company did not repeat substantial one-time AI data-access revenue earned that year. Excluding those contracts, Informa calculated underlying growth of 3.6% and is targeting approximately 4% in 2026.

The publisher also generated a 36.6% adjusted operating margin in 2025, compared with 28.6% for Informa's events division. In other words, Taylor & Francis earned more operating profit as a percentage of revenue, even as the events business was growing faster.

That comparison helps explain the strategic choice.

During the October 6 investor discussion, Carter acknowledged that Informa's much larger events business could eventually receive greater priority when the company decides where to invest its money.

Taylor & Francis has its own opportunities in academic research, open-access publishing and technology. Those investments may make sense for the publisher, but they may compete less favorably for capital inside a company increasingly focused on expanding its events portfolio.

Informa believes separating Taylor & Francis could give the publisher greater freedom to pursue those opportunities. Whether a different ownership structure would produce better results remains to be seen.

The company has not decided how the separation will happen. It is reviewing its options and expects to announce the outcome in March 2027.

Carter told investors that the Clarion acquisition and Taylor & Francis separation resulted from separate strategic reviews. He also said Informa expects to reduce the debt associated with buying Clarion regardless of the outcome of the publishing review.

The changes would leave Informa more concentrated in events and related services, although it would retain Informa TechTarget, its technology information and marketing-services business.

INSIDER TAKE

Informa is making a substantial investment in the part of its business where it believes it can generate the most growth. Its strategy depends on capturing more value from the established industry relationships behind its event brands.

The company sees specialist events as opportunities to connect businesses with valuable audiences and build ongoing demand for marketing, data and commercial services. Clarion brings established brands and industry relationships that Informa believes it can expand into additional markets and services.

The planned Taylor & Francis separation makes the investment choice clearer. Academic publishing remains a substantial, profitable business, but management acknowledges it could increasingly compete for capital with Informa's much larger events operation. Separating the businesses may give each greater freedom to pursue its own growth opportunities.

The unanswered question is whether Informa can turn additional scale and audience relationships into the growth it expects. The acquisition's projected returns depend on expansion, cost savings and new revenue opportunities that have yet to be delivered.

There is a trade-off. If Taylor & Francis leaves the group, Informa will also lose some of the diversification that comes from owning a large subscription-based publishing business. Events may offer faster growth, but they bring different risks, including changes in business spending and disruptions to travel or in-person gatherings.

For B2B publishers, associations and information businesses, Informa offers a significant example of a company reconsidering where the greatest long-term value lies in the markets and customer relationships it serves. The decision illustrates how two profitable businesses can develop different investment priorities as they grow, with different opportunities and risks shaping where their owners choose to invest.