Blackstone, the private equity giant, has hired one of Wall Street’s leading banks to sell the corporate events business which runs some of the world’s largest trade shows.
Sky News understands that Blackstone has engaged Goldman Sachs to handle an auction of Clarion Events which is expected to value it at more than £2bn.
The sale process is scheduled to get underway during the second quarter of 2025.
Clarion runs major international trade shows in sectors such as defence, consumer electronics and gaming.
It has expanded significantly since Blackstone bought the company in 2017 in a £600m deal.
The private equity group injected additional capital into Clarion during the pandemic, when a series of lockdowns left the entire events industry fearing for its future.
For Clarion, those concerns were exacerbated by the scale of its presence in China, where COVID-19 restrictions were particularly draconian.
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Clarion, which was founded nearly 80 years ago, employs close to 2,000 people.
An auction process next year will come amid a resurgence in dealmaking in the corporate events sector, with Ascential – owner of the Cannes Lions advertising festival – recently agreeing a sale to Informa.
Blackstone declined to comment.