As spring begins its transition into summer, several event companies and service providers in the U.S. and overseas have been busy making acquisitions and forming strategic partnerships to increase their market share, benefit the industries they serve and expand offerings for clients. Take a look! 

Restaurant Events 

Restaurant Events, a new trade show management company formed by industry veterans Tim von Gal and Doug Miller, announced on May 31 that it had purchased three restaurant and foodservice trade shows from Clarion Events: the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show and the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo. 

Partners von Gal and Miller originally purchased the events from Reed Exhibitions in 2014 under the banner of Urban Expositions and grew the events until Clarion Events acquired them in 2016. 

“We are thrilled to be re-acquiring these events especially as the restaurant and hospitality industries are seeing exponential growth following the challenges during the pandemic,” von Gal said. “The recent International Restaurant & Foodservice Show, which was held in March, reported a 50% increase in attendance, bringing the audience nearly back up to pre-pandemic levels. The aisles were packed with solutions providers and qualified buyers and there was an excitement for the industry to be back together.”

Offering access to the hottest menu trends, state-of-the-art design and decor, best-in-business education and hundreds of the leading vendors and purveyors dedicated to serving the restaurant and foodservice community, the three trade shows and conferences highlight hundreds of leading vendors demonstrating and sampling the newest food products, as well as technology and equipment for the restaurant, foodservice, specialty beverage and hospitality markets.  

Attendees also have access to a free education program that offers how-to sessions, business solutions, conversations with subject matter experts, culinary demonstrations and competitions. More than 50 complimentary educational sessions focus on content for all segments of the industry, from independent restaurant owners to chain operators to commercial and institutional foodservice operations.   

“We have a great team in place to take these events to the next level and we are truly excited to be working together again with our industry partners,” von Gal said. “Plans are already underway to enhance the attendee and exhibitor experience, with new features and activities planned for each event. 

Arc 

Arc, the global events, data and media platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, recently expanded its offerings in the financial services sector with the acquisition of Marketing in Partnership Ltd (MiP), an events and marketing solutions partner for the asset management industry. Along with organizing the Joint Investment Conference (JIC) and the Select and Global Investment Management Summit (GIMS) events, MiP provides marketing solutions and organizes events for its clients. 

According to Arc officials, the acquisition of MiP reinforces Arc’s commitment to the financial services community, as it is complementary to brands in the network, including Professional Adviser, Investment Week and Global AgInvesting. In addition, the marketing solutions provided by MiP will help strengthen Arc’s full-service marketing agency capability for the U.K. financial sector, broadening the services offered by Incisive Works, the content and performance marketing agency of Incisive Media. 

“This acquisition, together with new products like Investment IQ, underlines our commitment to leadership in serving the financial services community,” said Simon Foster, group CEO of Arc. “We look forward to welcoming the MiP team to the network and working with them as we continue our commitment to continually developing our offerings for the sector.” 

Signed on May 19, the deal is the seventh acquisition for the Arc network, its fifth in Europe and third in the financial services sector. Canson Capital Partners, an Arc founding partner, served as financial adviser on the deal. 

Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organizes more than 150 events a year and operates critical content platforms in HR technology, agriculture and food, financial services and investing and education technology.  

CompuSystems

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) has selected leading registration, data analytics and lead retrieval services provider CompuSystems to provide registration and lead retrieval services for its annual AIMExpo | Powersports Tradeshow for the next three years, starting in 2024. 

An immersive experience for the powersports industry that provides a platform for key brands, manufacturers, dealers, distributors, media outlets and influencers to engage, learn about and discuss the important issues currently facing the industry, the next AIMExpo | Powersports Tradeshow is set to take place Feb. 6-8, 2024, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“We are thrilled to partner with the MIC to help them deliver the best possible trade shows for their customers,” said CompuSystems CEO Mark LoGiurato. “Our goal is to foster a long-term relationship by providing our best-in-class service and technology, as we do with all our clients.” 

Have a recent business deal to share? Please send detailed announcements to lpsavas@tsnn.com.

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