Big news has arrived in the trade show industry. UK organiser CloserStill Media has been valued at £1.35bn ($1.77bn) after Searchlight Capital Partners joined existing owner Providence Equity Partners. This deal ranks as the second largest in trade show history.
The valuation was reportedly at the top end of the investor aspirations.
How will shares be divvied up?
Searchlight Capital is acquiring 40% of CloserStill. Searchlight and existing CloserStill owner Providence will collectively own 80% of the UK-based organiser.
CloserStill management and staff will hold on to about 20% of shares after the investment.
Second biggest trade show deal ever
The impressive figures behind this deal make it the second biggest in trade show history, bested only by Informa’s £4bn acquisition of UBM back in 2018 – at a time when CloserStill recorded a mere £50m in revenue.
Strong price for a trade show organiser
The deal values CloserStill at around 16x 2025 profit and just over 14x 2026 forecasts. That’s a strong multiple for an exhibition business and reflects how the company performed during the sale process.
Forecasts moved during the process
CloserStill’s numbers improved while the deal was underway.
EBITDA for 2026 is now expected to reach at least £105m, above the £100m outlined earlier to bidders. Revenue is projected to hit around £330m by 2027.
Growth is being driven in part by a run of data centre events, alongside steady expansion across the wider portfolio. Around 25 shows have reportedly grown at more than 20% a year over the past four years, with three of the company’s largest events built in-house.
Few strategic buyers involved
Trade buyers were largely absent from the acquisition process. Fellow UK organiser RX Global showed some early interest but did not play a major role.
Informa also stayed out.
No plans to combine with Hyve
Despite the shared ownership, CloserStill and Hyve Group are expected to remain separate businesses.
Investors have indicated there are no plans to bring the two together, at least for now.
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April/May 2026