Cannes Lion Festival bought out by rival business, informa

Ascential, the Cannes Lions festival owner, as been bought out by its rival Informa

The UK events group acquired the London-listed Ascential, which also owns Warc and Money202/20 in a bid of around £1.2bn, which values each Ascential share at 568p.

The B2B media and events business company says it plans to make the advertising awards, the Cannes Lions the “centrepiece of a new business, Informa Festivals, designed to showcase the value of experience-led, festival brands – a fast-growing area in the B2B events space”.

Cannes Lions a world-class B2B brand

Commenting on the deal, Stephen Carter, chief executive of Informa, says, “Informa is in the business of creating, nurturing and growing world-class B2B brands.

“Lions and Money20/20 are outstanding examples of such brands. Combined, we can expand them into more sectors, accelerate growth and take advantage of new opportunities.”

This would include Informa’s existing events Monaco Yacht Show, London Tech Week and cybersecurity show Black Hat.

IInforma says it “sees the opportunity to create significant value from further developing its own Festival brands, in combination with Lions’ expertise, and accelerating the broader experience-led transformation of its wider B2B portfolio”.

It adds that it plans to expand Money 20/20 into the Middle East and Africa.

As a result of the merger, Cannes Lions and Money 20/20 will be combined into Informa’s operating platform.

Informa expects £12m in annual cost savings and efficiency improvements as well as “significant” revenue opportunities such as “through cross-selling and expansion into fast growth economies where Informa has an established position”.

Value of Cannes Lions

Philip Thomas, CEO of Ascential says the Cannes Lions and Money20/20 have transformed how their customers around the world experience events

“The value our businesses bring to their respective industries is clear as is the regard in which they are held by Informa.”

Thomas called Informa a highly respected business... “famed for its expertise in B2B events, strong, ethical culture and commitment to

Commenting on the offer he says, “This offer will not only deliver substantial value for our shareholders but also, together with Informa’s international footprint and extensive capabilities in data and analytics, will unlock further growth opportunities for our brands and our people.”

Informa half year results

The deal was announced with Informa’s half-year results of double-digit underlying growth of 11% to £1.7bn, an 18.8% increase in operating profit, and an adjusted operating profit up to £466.9m with dividend growth of 10% to 6.4p per share.

Informa says its AI partnerships will bring in more than $75m (£58.2m) in 2024.

In May it announced a deal with Microsoft including access to its data, that came with an initial fee of more than $10m (£7.8m) and then three more annual payments to cover access to new content.

In its results, Informa states it has signed a second major AI partnership. No further details were disclosed.

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