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Informa

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Informa plc
Company typePublic
LSE: INF
FTSE 100 Component
IndustryPublishing, business intelligence, global exhibitions, Events
Predecessors
FoundedDecember 1998; 25 years ago (December 1998)
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK
Number of locations
150 offices
Area served
43+ countries worldwide
Key people
ServicesSpecialist information, scholarly research, electronic publishing, event management, exhibitions, business intelligence
RevenueIncrease £3.189 billion (2023)[1]
Increase £853.8 million (2023)[1]
Increase £462.7 million (2023)[1]
Number of employees
11,000 (2024)[2]
DivisionsInforma Connect, Informa Markets, Informa Tech, Taylor & Francis
Websiteinforma.com

Informa plc is a British publishing, business intelligence, and exhibitions group based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

It has offices in 43 countries and around 11,000 employees. Informa owns numerous brands including CRC Press, Fan Expo, Game Developers Conference, Routledge, Taylor & Francis, and VidCon.

Informa acquired UBM in June 2018 as part of its strategy to expand in North America and Asia.[3][4]

History

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Informa itself was created in 1998 by the merger of IBC Group plc and LLP Group plc.[5] Since then Informa has expanded considerably, including a 2004 merger with the publishing company Taylor & Francis and a 2005 acquisition of IIR Holdings, a human capital development company, for £768 million.[6][7] In October 2006, the company was approached by Springer Science and Business Media in a takeover bid,[8] but in early November the Informa board rejected the 630p per share offer as too low.[9]

In early 2007, chairman Richard Hooper announced his retirement in May and, after consulting with major shareholders, the company moved chief executive Peter Rigby to chairman, and managing director David Gilbertson to Rigby's former post. Informa explained Rigby's move by the need to maintain management stability, although it generated some controversy because it did not follow the advice of the UK's Combined Code on Corporate Governance.[6][10]

On 8 June 2008, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that United Business Media (UBM) had proposed a merger with Informa to create a media group worth over £3 billion.[11] The talks were confirmed by Informa in a press release that same day, but described as "preliminary".[12][13] Previously on 13 May The Times had reported that the Carlyle Group and Apax Partners were considering bidding for the company.[14] On 17 June talks with UBM ended because of the rapid rise in Informa's stock price after the public disclosure of the potential merger.[15] On 26 June a private equity consortium consisting of Providence Equity Partners, the Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman proposed a takeover bid offering 506 pence per share.[16]

In May 2009 the company announced that it would restructure its business to be incorporated in Jersey but tax resident in Switzerland.[17]

The discontinued domain Informaworld provided subscribers with more than half a million journal articles and 13,000 e-books from all its imprints.[18] In June 2011 the journals and e-books transferred to a new website, Taylor & Francis Online. Abstracting and indexing databases and bibliographic databases were to move from Informaworld to Taylor & Francis Online at a later date.[19]

In July 2013, the company announced that Peter Rigby would retire at the end of 2013 to be replaced as CEO by Stephen Carter.[20] Also in 2013, Informa acquired the Canadian company Hobby Star Marketing, who ran the Fan Expo Canada and Toronto Comicon comic book conventions. Informa has since acquired other conventions and placed them under the auspices of their Fan Expo HQ brand, including Dallas Comic Con and MegaCon.[21][22][23]

In December 2013, Informa acquired the assets of Elsevier Business Intelligence (EBI) from Reed Elsevier. The EBI business unit includes such publications as The Pink Sheet, The Gray Sheet, IN VIVO, Start-Up, and the Strategic Transactions database along with a series of notable conferences. The EBI assets combined with Scrip, Datamonitor and several other publications formed the newly created Pharma Intelligence division of Informa Business Information.[24]

In January 2014, Carter became CEO of Informa plc.[25] In September 2017, Informa announced that it would be acquiring Dove Medical Press.[26]

In January 2018, Informa announced its intent to acquire UBM plc.[27] The transaction was completed in June 2018.[28]

In 2019, Informa sold the former UBM Life Sciences to MJH Associates.[29] Later in 2019, Informa traded it Agriculture Intelligence unit to IHS Markit in exchange for most of IHS Markit's Technology, Media and Telecoms division.[30] Also in 2019, Informa sold the former Penton design & engineering, manufacturing, energy, buildings, and commercial vehicle divisions, and the former UBM Automotive, to Endeavor Business Media.[31]

In February 2020, Informa launched Omdia by consolidating its portfolio of market analyst companies, Ovum Ltd, Heavy Reading, Tractica, and the majority of IHS Markit's technology, media and telecommunications research business, into a unified brand. The combined research offering includes more than 400 analysts and consultants covering 150 technology markets. Collectively, Omdia issues over 3,000 research reports annually.[32]

In February 2022, Informa sold its Informa Pharma Intelligence unit to investment fund, Warburg Pincus for $2.6 billion.[33]

Previous logo

It also sold Lloyd's List and EPFR to Montagu Private Equity in 2022.[34]

In March 2023, in a cash and shares deal, Informa acquired the Irish Tarsus Group from Charterhouse Capital Partners for a reported GBP 790m.[35][36][37]

In January 2024, Informa announced that it would merge the digital business of Informa Tech with TechTarget. The resulting company would keep the TechTarget name with Informa holding 57% stake and the existing TechTarget shareholders holding 43% stake in the merged TechTarget.[38][39]

In June 2024, Informa closed two UK-based titles: Digital TV Europe and Television Business International.[40]

In July 2024, the company reached a deal to acquire media and events company Ascential for approximately £1.2 billion.[41]

Operations

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Informa is organized into four operating divisions: Informa Connect, Informa Markets, Informa Tech, and Taylor & Francis.[42]

In June 2021, John Rishton was appointed as chairman, replacing Derek Mapp.[43]

Brands

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Informa owns numerous brands including CRC Press, Fan Expo HQ, Game Developers Conference, Routledge, Taylor & Francis and VidCon. Retired and consolidated brands include Institute for International Research, Ovum Ltd, Penton, The Public Ledger, and UBM.

Informa Connect

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Informa Markets

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Informa Tech

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Taylor & Francis

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Preliminary Results 2023" (PDF). Informa. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  2. ^ "About us". Informa. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ^ Fildes, Nic (15 September 2016). "Informa acquires US events and publishing rival for £1.2bn". Financial Times. FT. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  4. ^ Nilsson, Patricia (7 March 2019). "Informa sales climb after £4bn UBM takeover". Financial Times. FT. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  5. ^ "LLP links with IBC in pounds 300m business group". The Independent. 20 November 1998. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b "ROUNDUP Informa names new chairman, CEO after FY profits soar". Forbes. 14 March 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2007.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ "T&F Informa buys conferences group Institute for International Research for 768 mln stg". Forbes. 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  8. ^ Kundnani, Hans (19 October 2006). "Springer Science & Business Media launches bid for Informa". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
  9. ^ "Informa rejects Springer bid". AFX News Limited. 3 November 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2007.[dead link‍]
  10. ^ "Informa unveils new CEO, chairman as 2006 results top forecasts". Forbes. 14 March 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2007.[dead link‍]
  11. ^ Harrington, Ben; Kleinman, Mark (8 June 2008). "Media giants United Business Media and Informa open talks on £3bn merger". The Sunday Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  12. ^ "Statement Regarding Press Speculation". Informa. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ "UBM and Informa confirm merger talks". The Guardian. London. 9 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  14. ^ Andrews, Amanda; Kennedy, Siobhan (13 May 2008). "Informa garners attention of private equity". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 9 July 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  15. ^ Arnott, Sarah (18 June 2008). "Cash approach for Informa as merger talks end with UBM". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
  16. ^ Thiel, Simon; Sabine Pirone (2 July 2008). "Informa Rises on $4.29 Billion Private-Equity Offer". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
  17. ^ Kollewe, Julia (1 May 2009). "Publishing firm Informa blames budget for tax switch". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  18. ^ Griffin, Daniel (December 2006). "Single vision of the world at Informa". Information World Review (230): 2.
  19. ^ "Taylor & Francis Online – FAQs" (PDF). Taylor & Francis Group. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  20. ^ "Informa announces retirement of Peter Rigby and appointment of Stephen Carter". 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  21. ^ "Dallas Comic Con Gets a New Owner and Home". Dallas Observer. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  22. ^ Dineen, Caitlin (7 April 2015). "Orlando's MegaCon sold to Informa". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  23. ^ Mantei, Shelley (9 April 2015). "Informa Exhibitions Expands Pop Culture Convention Portfolio With MegaCon Orlando" (PDF) (Press release). Orlando, Florida: FAN EXPO HQ. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  24. ^ "Informa Acquires Elsevier Business Intelligence". 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  25. ^ "Informa Confirms Stephen Carter To Be CEO, Effective Jan. 1 – Update". RTT News. 31 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  26. ^ "Informa acquires Dove Medical Press, AA appoints Simon Breakwell as permanent chief executive". BOLSAMANIA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  27. ^ Garrahan, Matthew; Pfeifer, Sylvia (16 January 2018). "Informa to buy exhibitions rival UBM for £4bn". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Informa's takeover of peer UBM effective after court sanction". Alliance News. 15 June 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  29. ^ "Informa Sells UBM Life Sciences Media Brands to MJH Associates for $100 Million". Folio. 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  30. ^ "IHS Markit swaps group that researches optical communications for Informa's agribusiness unit". Lightwave. 24 May 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  31. ^ "Endeavor Business Media Acquires More Than 20 B2B Titles from Informa Plc". Folio. 11 November 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Informa Tech launches "research powerhouse" Omdia". Digital TV. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  33. ^ "Informa sells Informa Intelligence business unit". Reuters. London. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Informa sells Lloyd's List for £385m as B2B giant sees revenue bounce back". Press Gazette. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Charterhouse exits Tarsus to Informa for GBP 790m EV | Unquote". www.unquote.com. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  36. ^ "Informa Acquires Tarsus Group in $940 Million Mega Deal". TSNN. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  37. ^ "Informa acquires Tarsus in $940m deal". Exhibition World. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  38. ^ Knolle, Sharon (2 September 2024). "Paramount Sells VidCon Creator Conference to UK Firm Informa". TheWrap. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  39. ^ "TechTarget to Expand Scale and Leadership Position in B2B Data and Market Access through Strategic Combination with Informa Tech's Digital Businesses" (Press release). Newton, Massachusetts: TechTarget. Business Wire. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  40. ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (10 June 2024). "Informa closes two B2B news brands covering TV business". Press Gazette. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  41. ^ Thomas, Daniel; Massoudi, Arash (24 July 2024). "Informa agrees to buy Cannes Lions owner Ascential for almost £1.2bn". Financial Times.
  42. ^ "Divisions - Informa PLC". Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  43. ^ "John Rishton". www.informa.com. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  44. ^ "Everything you need to check out at FAN EXPO Vancouver 2022 | Listed". dailyhive.com. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  45. ^ "Inside Self-Storage World Expo, Las Vegas, July 13–16, 2021". issworldexpo.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  46. ^ "About". Industry Dive. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
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