Informa agrees $1.6 billion deal for Cannes Lions owner Ascential (updated)
24/07/2024 07:41
(Adds details on deal in paragraphs 2-4, results in paragraphs
5-7)
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Britain's Informa INF.L
said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy Cannes Lions Festival
owner Ascential ASCL.L for 1.2 billion pounds ($1.6 billion),
adding the prominent advertising industry conference to its
portfolio of events.
Ascential, which also owns the Money20/20 fintech events,
said on Tuesday after the market closed that it had received the
cash offer, which it was minded to recommend.
Informa said it would expand both events into more sectors
and accelerate growth, helped by its first-party data platform
and understanding of both the marketing and fintech sectors.
It has agreed to pay 568 pence per share, representing a 53%
premium on the closing price of 371 pence on Monday.
Informa announced the deal alongside its first-half results
that showed underlying operating profit growth of 18.8% and
revenue growth of 11%.
The strong performance enabled it to upgrade its
expectations for the full year.
It said adjusted operating profit would be above the top of
current guidance, which stands at 970 million pounds, and now
could be up to 1 billion pounds.
($1 = 0.7756 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle in London and Pushkala Aripaka in
Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Alex Richardson)
((Pushkala.A@thomsonreuters.com; X and LinkedIn:
@pullthekart;))