Forge, the B2B events and media company (formed by the combination of Emerald and Questex after the acquisition by Apollo Funds in July 2026), has announces it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Becker’s Healthcare (“Becker’s”), the media and events platform serving hospital, health system and healthcare executives, from Pamlico Capital.
The acquisition will include all of Becker’s media and events assets, including its 16 annual conferences, more than a dozen digital publications, and its portfolio of newsletters, podcasts and executive communities.
The acquisition will significantly expand Forge’s presence in healthcare and life sciences by combining Becker’s with Forge’s existing healthcare portfolio, Fierce Healthcare and Life Sciences (“Fierce”).
“Becker’s sets the agenda for the business of healthcare,” said Paul Miller, CEO of Forge. “Combined with Fierce Healthcare and Life Science’s reach, we will be able to serve healthcare decision-makers across the full continuum of care, with significant opportunity to grow as these markets grow.”
Becker’s Healthcare was founded by Scott Becker with a vision to deliver news and insights to healthcare leaders and decision-makers across North America. Jessica Cole has served as president and CEO since 2010, growing Becker’s into one of the country’s most influential healthcare media companies.
“Becker’s was built by staying relentlessly focused on the needs of the people who run healthcare, and by a team that treats that as a personal responsibility,” said Cole. “Joining Forge gives our team a bigger platform to do exactly that, with more reach, more data and more ways to connect our audiences across the industry.”
“Becker’s is exactly the kind of business we looked to invest in when we formed Forge: a category leader with an exceptional management team, deep audience trust, durable first-party data, marquee live events and a year-round engagement model, operating in a market with powerful long-term tailwinds,” said Shahid Bosan, managing director at Apollo. “Bringing Becker’s together with Fierce Healthcare and Life Sciences under Forge will create meaningful scale across healthcare and life sciences, and we see significant opportunity for the company to accelerate growth by connecting these complementary audiences, brands and capabilities.”
Healthcare and life sciences are an increasingly important part of the global economy, with technology, demographics, innovation and changing models of care continuing to reshape the industry. These are large, dynamic markets benefiting from powerful long-term growth drivers including an aging population, continued healthcare investment, advances in technology and life sciences, and the increasing complexity of how care is financed and delivered. These structural trends are creating sustained demand for trusted information, expertise, connection, and business opportunities across the healthcare ecosystem.
“This acquisition is an important example of our strategy to build positions in attractive, high-growth markets where we can create greater value by bringing together audiences, content, data and marketplaces,” Miller added. “We see significant opportunity to continue investing in businesses where we can build scale, deepen our relationships with decisionmakers and create more ways for customers to engage throughout the year.”
BrightTower acted as lead financial advisor, and Holland & Knight LLP acted as legal counsel to Becker’s Healthcare in this transaction. JEGI LEONIS acted as financial advisor, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP acted as legal counsel to Forge.
