Informa’s Clarion acquisition - what changes for the exhibitions market?

6 October 2026, 12:50 United Kingdom

The £2.24 billion deal would bring together two of the world’s leading exhibition organisers. For the gaming industry, its significance runs through brands including ICE and iGB Affiliate.

Clarion Events announced on its official website on 6 October that it is to be acquired by Informa. The company, which describes itself as the world’s largest privately owned event and exhibition organiser, will move from Blackstone’s ownership to the international group, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Informa’s separate announcement puts Clarion’s enterprise value at £2.24 billion. The buyer expects approximately £50 million in annual cost savings once the identified cost synergies are fully realised. Alongside the expansion of its portfolio, Informa is therefore counting on running the combined business more efficiently.

The transaction brings together the companies ranked first and third by exhibition-organising revenue in Grant Thornton Stax’s 2025 ranking. Before the acquisition, Informa already accounts for 32% of the combined revenue of the 20 ranked businesses. That is a share of the ranked group, not of the entire global market. Adding Clarion would further increase the scale of the largest player.

For gaming businesses, the connection is direct. Clarion Gaming’s portfolio includes ICE and iGB Affiliate, where operators, suppliers and affiliate partners meet. The ownership change consequently matters to companies that rely on these events to launch products, find customers and enter new markets.

Clarion identifies investment, international reach and stronger digital capabilities among the benefits of joining Informa. Chief Executive Officer Lisa Hannant described the proposed combination as a new chapter for the company and recognition of its teams’ work.

Exhibitors will have a more practical question - will those additional resources lead to better meetings and more business? A wider international network could attract new buyers and help companies reach contacts beyond their existing markets. Investment in data and digital tools would be valuable if it helps participants find relevant partners and maintain those relationships after an exhibition closes.

That is where the integration will have to prove its worth. Attendance is only one measure of an event’s performance. For a company paying for a stand, travel and staff on site, the audience profile, quality of meetings and total participation cost matter just as much. A larger organiser will need to turn its scale into benefits those customers can recognise.

Preserving the identity of individual events will also take care. Shared technology and services can reduce costs and improve delivery. But trust in a specialist exhibition also rests on the people running it, their knowledge of the industry and relationships built over many years. How those teams and connections are retained will help determine whether the combination delivers on its promise.

For rival organisers, the deal sharpens the question of what makes their events worth attending. Strong regional access, relationships with particular buyer groups or a carefully developed conference programme could remain compelling reasons for exhibitors to commit their budgets. Smaller events may find room to compete where they offer contacts and market knowledge that customers struggle to find elsewhere.

For now, Clarion says business will continue as usual for exhibitors, sponsors, partners and suppliers. Its announcement sets out no changes to the pricing, locations or schedules of individual events. Gaming businesses will have more to assess once the transaction closes and investment decisions begin to shape future editions. The terms of participation and the experience on the exhibition floor will provide a clearer measure of the deal’s value than the size of the combined portfolio alone.

Based on information published on the official Clarion Events website, Informa’s announcement of 6 October 2026 and Grant Thornton Stax’s 2025 ranking. This article includes editorial analysis.