Apax Partners Competes to Acquire CloserStill Media for Over £1.2bn
Apax Partners has emerged as a leading contender to acquire UK exhibitions and events group CloserStill Media from Providence Equity Partners in an auction process that could value the business at more than £1.2bn, according to a report by Reuters as cited in Private Equity Wire.
The Auction Process
The London-based buyout firm Apax Partners is understood to be competing in an auction that has been running over recent months, with market participants indicating that Providence Equity Partners is aiming to finalise an agreement in the near term. Sources familiar with the process have cautioned that no binding deal has been reached and competing bidders could still emerge, as highlighted in the Private Equity Wire article.
Background on CloserStill Media
CloserStill Media operates a portfolio of specialist trade exhibitions across healthcare, technology, and professional services sectors, including flagship events such as the London Vet Show, Cloud Expo Europe, Data Centre World, The Pharmacy Show, and The Dentistry Show. Providence Equity Partners acquired its majority stake in CloserStill in 2018 from a consortium including Inflexion Private Equity, NVM Private Equity, and management shareholders in a deal valued at approximately £340m, according to the source material.
Significance of the Deal
If completed, the transaction would rank among the more significant private equity-backed trades in the European events sector in recent years, reflecting renewed investor interest in experiential and business-to-business conferencing assets following a slowdown in deal activity during recent macroeconomic uncertainty. The prospective sale would represent a substantial increase in value over Providence’s original entry price of approximately £340m, as noted in Private Equity Wire.
