Informa Acquires Cannes Lions Owner Ascential For $1.6 Bn

With the $1.6 billion purchase of Ascential, the owner of the Cannes Lions Festival, Britain's Informa will now have the prestigious ad industry convention in its portfolio of events. London Tech Week, the Black Hat cyber security event and the Monaco Yacht Show are just a few of the experience-driven festival brands that Informa already owns.

According to a Reuters article, Informa claimed that it will increase both events and speed up growth, aided by its data platform and knowledge of the finance and marketing industries.

It mentioned that Informa wants to extend money 20/20 into the Middle East and Africa, due to the region’s rapid growth and significant investment in financial technology, particularly around payments. This includes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where Informa has established a joint venture partnership with Tahaluf.

Stephen A. Carter, Chief Executive, Informa, said that both companies delivered double-digit growth in the first half of this year and were confident about their prospects. "Powerful brands serving specialist markets are doing extremely well. we're not buying this business for cost reduction, we're buying this business for growth," he said.

Ascential reportedly employs around 700 people. The company's CEO, Philip Thomas commented, “Informa is a highly respected business, famed for its expertise in B2B events, strong, ethical culture and commitment to innovation. This offer will not only deliver substantial value for our shareholders but also, together with Informa’s international footprint and extensive capabilities in data and analytics, will unlock further growth opportunities for our brands and our people.”