The deal is the largest made by Informa since Stephen Carter (pictured) became CEO in 2014 when he launched a three-year Growth Acceleration Plan (GAP).

The proposal is to be funded by a fully-underwritten £715 million rights issue and will create one of the world’s biggest exhibitions, events and conferences companies.

It will also mean the US becomes Informa’s single largest market by revenue and earnings.

Penton has around 30 exhibitions across a range of industry sectors as well as 20 significant digital subscription data brands and a portfolio of more than 100 print and digital B2B insight products.

Carter said: "Following extensive and exclusive talks with Penton’s owners and management, today’s announcement signals the next step in GAP, underlining our commitment to accelerated growth and international scale while delivering attractive returns for our shareholders.

"The opportunity created through the combination of Informa and Penton balances our portfolio and increases our scale and reach, further improving the predictability and sustainability of our growth performance and cash generation."