Charterhouse exits Tarsus to Informa for GBP 790m EV

Ero Partsakoulaki
09 March 2023

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Charterhouse Capital is exiting Dublin-based B2B events group Tarsus Group in a sale to publicly-listed trade show organizer Informa for an enterprise value of GBP 790m (USD 940m) in a cash and shares deal.

The UK-based GP acquired Tarsus in 2019 via its Charterhouse Capital Partners X fund, which held a final close on EUR 2.3bn in November 2016 to invest mostly in industrial and commercial businesses in western Europe. The sale marks the vehicle's seventh exit to date.

Under its ownership, Charterhouse helped the company in delivering 24 new event launches and supported 11 targeted acquisitions, according to a press release from the seller. Moreover, it is currently benefitting from the reopening of the international markets for B2B events, including the recovery of the trade show industry, it said.

The buyer is set to assist Tarsus with its expansion plans and support its global growth across its target market segments, with the Informa board believing the combination of the two entities and their portfolio alignment is both commercially and financially compelling, according to a press release from the buyer. The initial enterprise value of the deal implies post-synergy multiple of circa 9.9x EV/EBITDA in 2023/24 and sub-9x in 2024/25, delivering significant earnings accretion and post-tax return on capital.

In 2021, Tarsus reported statutory revenue of GBP 89m (USD 106m), statutory loss before tax of GBP 77.3m (USD 92m) and gross assets of GBP 872m (USD 1,037m), it said. In 2023, Tarsus' full year revenues are estimated to be more than GBP 175m.

Charterhouse is currently investing from its eleventh private equity fund, which was registered in May 2020 with a target of EUR 2.5bn. The vehicle is expected to follow its predecessor fund strategy and deploy equity tickets in the range of EUR 100m to EUR 250m in up to 15 mid-market buyouts in Europe, according to Unquote Data.

Company
Founded in 1998, Tarsus is a B2B events business with operations in the US, Europe and Asia. It owns and operates a portfolio of over 160 live and online B2B events brands, with a focus on growing specialist B2B markets with fragmented supply chains. Its events currently attract over 455,000 attendees and more than 8,300 exhibitors, across a broad range of sectors including automotive & transport, sustainability, technology and healthcare.

People
Charterhouse − Robert Leeming (partner).
Tarsus Group − Douglas Emslie (CEO).
Informa − Stephen A. Carter (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Allen & Overy (legal).
Buyer – Dentons (legal).