Penton Sells to Informa
Informa, which describes itself as a business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events business, has acquired Penton, an information services company with a substantive presence in agriculture.
The $1.56 billion deal will significantly increase the British company’s presence in the U.S., as well as its role in the global exhibitions market.
Patrick Martell, CEO of business intelligence at Informa, will assume the role of CEO of Penton. Charlie McCurdy, CEO of global exhibitions, will oversee the enlarged exhibitions division.
It is not yet clear what role Penton CEO David Kieselstein will play after the transition.
Penton is headquartered in New York. With this sale, Informa acquires 30 exhibitions, including the Natural Products Expo, Farm Progress, and WasteExpo, as well as over 20 data and intelligence brands, and more than 100 print and digital B2B brands.
With less than a year to go until the Farm Progress Show returns to Decatur, consideration has started about what needs to be done to prepare Progress City for the event. Local press reports the timetable for making decisions is unsettled for now, with the pending sale.
Sources: Foliomag.com, Financial Times, StreetInsider, Harold&Review.com