ii view: Informa growth strategy now includes this £2.2bn acquisition

Acquisition and business separation plan

Chief executive Stephen Carter said:

“Today’s announcements mark the latest step in a growth strategy that has seen B2B revenues grow tenfold since 2014, whilst generating more than $3 billion of value in Business Intelligence and lifting Taylor & Francis revenues fourfold since it joined the Group.”

“With Taylor & Francis approaching $1 billion in revenue, growing at 4%± and with its Open Research capabilities firmly established, we believe it will now benefit from greater flexibility and freedom through the next phase of its development, as Informa further expands the depth and reach of its B2B portfolio.”

• Our Services: SIPP Account | Stocks & Shares ISA | See all Investment Accounts

ii round-up:

Informa (LSE:INF) today raised growth forecasts as it moved to buy a fellow events organiser as well as parting company with its increasingly non-core business data division.

Clarion, the organiser of events including the world’s largest consumer electronics show, is being bought for £2.24 billion, while plans to separate out Informa's academic markets business Taylor & Francis will be set out at annual results in March next year. As such, the business-to-business (B2B) live events company now expects growth in underlying revenue of 7%, up from just over 6% in the early months of this financial year, with earnings growth accelerating from 2027.

Shares in the FTSE 100 company rose 4% in UK trading having come into this latest news down around 3% so far in 2026. Fellow business data provider RELX (LSE:REL) is down around 13% during that time, hit by worries regarding the possible impact of AI. The FTSE 100 index is up 6% year-to-date.

Informa looks to help businesses connect and make better informed decisions. Both an equity fundraising of £940 million and halting its share buyback programme will help pay for the acquisition.

Clarion, whose other events include the Defence and Security equipment show held at London’s ExCel Centre, is being acquired from Blackstone, with the deal expected to complete towards the end of the current financial year.

Informa’s net debt-to-adjusted profit (EBITDA) ratio following the acquisition is expected to remain below 3 times, falling to under 2.5 times come the end of the 2027 financial year.

The Taylor & Francis data business accounted for under 20% of group-wide revenues during its last 2025 financial year to late March.

A 10-month trading update is scheduled for 17 November.

ii view

Started in 1988, Informa today employs around 14,000 people. The B2B Live Events business includes over 800 brands serving more than 40 market categories across more than 30 countries. As well as the B2B and Taylor & Francis business, the group’s TechTarget business, bringing together buyers and sellers of tech businesses and which is also listed on the Nasdaq exchange, generated a further tenth of group revenues in 2025.

Geographically, North America generated most sales in 2025 at 44%, Europe at 16%, China 12%, the UK 5% and the rest of the world including the Middle East at 23%.

For investors, exposure to the Middle East and the ongoing war has seen performance hindered, and all acquisitions come with some risk. Adjusted sales for the TechTarget business fell 1.7% during the full year 2025, with its shares on the US Nasdaq index down almost 40% over the last year. A forecast dividend yield of around 2.7% is less than the 4%-plus yields at media sector rivals WPP (LSE:WPP) and ITV (LSE:ITV).    

• 10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts
• Shares for the future: growing with a tailwind
• Fund Focus: four questions to ask Scottish Mortgage

To the upside, a stricter focus on the core B2B events business generating three-quarters of 2025 sales is being made via acquisition, with the non-core Taylor & Francis business being separated-out and growth rates enhanced. There's geographical diversity, and an ability to reschedule live events in the Middle East previously aided performance. Live events and the networking of business executives is less likely than other areas to be impacted by AI, while shareholder returns have regularly included share buybacks.  

In all, and despite ongoing risks, an expanding platform of shows to bring businesses together and a consensus analyst fair value estimate above 1,070p per share look to offer grounds for continued longer-term optimism.

Positives:

• Increased business focus
• Focus on limiting and reducing group net debt

Negatives:

• Uncertain economic outlook
• Exposure to currency moves

The average rating of stock market analysts:

Buy