5th Dec 2016 07:53
LONDON (Alliance News) - Events company Tarsus Group PLC on Monday said it has agreed to buy a majority stake in US travel and meetings event organiser Connect Meetings LLC and will launch a placing to finance the deal.
Tarsus will pay up to USD57.0 million to acquire 80.1% of Connect Meetings in cash, with USD44.0 million to be paid up front, in addition to USD1.0 million of working capital, plus another USD12.0 million based on Connect Meetings hitting financial targets in the two years after completion.
Connect Meetings will increase Tarsus's exposure to the US market, in addition to addressing some key events industry markets, and will offer organic growth opportunities for the combined group, including event replication, the UK-listed group said.
To part-finance the deal, Tarsus will issue 10.3 million shares at 235.00 pence apiece to raise GBP24.1 million. The balance of the acquisition to be funded by amended financing facilities put in place by Tarsus. Its loan facilities have been increased to GBP111.0 million to fund the Connect Meetings agreement.
Tarsus shares closed at 248.00p on Friday.
"Following the recent acquisition of Intex in China, which brought two world-class exhibitions into the Group, Music China and CES Asia, we are delighted to be acquiring Connect in the US. The US and China are two of the world's largest exhibition markets and both are a key area of focus for Tarsus. These acquisitions tick all of the boxes of our Quickening the Pace strategy," said Tarsus Managing Director Douglas Emslie.
"Connect is a strong brand, led by an entrepreneurial team with a track record of delivering strong growth. We are pleased to have acquired Connect as companies of this size and quality are increasingly difficult to find. There is a great opportunity to quicken that growth further by expansion and replication within the US and other selected territories and to launch into new verticals," he added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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