Informa and UBM poised to merge

The proposed takeover by Informa for the share capital of UBM would create a B2B information services group with a value of around £9bn.

Under the terms of the proposal, UBM shareholders would receive 1.083 Informa shares and 163 pence in cash for each Informa share, according to a joint release issued by the company. 

The combined company would be led by Informa chairman Derek Mapp and chief executive Stephen Carter.

With around 7,500 staff and a presence in North and South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Informa is split into four main divisions: Business Intelligence; Global Exhibitions; Academic Publishing; and Knowledge and Networking.

The company completed a £1.2bn purchase of US exhibitions and information group Penton Information Services in late 2016 to increase its scale in the US. Following the acquisition, the Business Intelligence division was expanded and restructured as part of the integration with other businesses within the Penton Information Services portfolio.

UBM organises around 300 B2B events per year, with a headcount of over 3,700 staff across 20 countries.