Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised longstanding client Informa PLC, a member of the FTSE 100, on its £1.2bn recommended offer for Ascential plc, the operator of Cannes Lions and Money20/20.
The acquisition of Ascential completes Informa’s three-year Reinvestment Programme that started with the divestment of the Informa Intelligence Portfolio for £2.5bn and has been followed by reinvestment into Winsight, Tarsus, HIMSS and now Ascential. Clifford Chance advised Informa on the sale of its Intelligence Portfolio and the acquisition of Winsight, as well as on the combination of the Informa Tech digital businesses with NASDAQ-listed TechTarget announced earlier this year. Clifford Chance also advised Informa on its successful £3.8bn offer for LSE-listed UBM plc in 2018.
Informa has a strong track record of nurturing and growing major events brands, having built a portfolio of 600+ brands across 20+ sectors over the last 15 years. The addition of Lions and Money20/20 makes for a powerful combination, with a blueprint for delivering further growth and expansion.
The acquisition is expected to complete in Q4 2024, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.
The cross jurisdiction and practice Clifford Chance team was led by London Corporate Partners Katherine Moir and Steven Fox and Senior Associate Olivia Higgs, alongside Public M&A Director Rui Huo and Senior Associate Antonio Folgore. London Counsel Michael Rueter and Senior Associate Sian Fagan and Washington DC Partner Brian Concklin in the Antitrust team, London Partner Chinwe Odimba-Chapman and Senior Associate Laura Conway in Employment, London Partner Sonia Gilbert and Senior Associate Jennifer Danso in Incentives, and London Partner Julia House and Senior Associate Lewis Whyte in Finance (amongst many others) also advised.
Commenting on the acquisition, Katherine Moir said: “We are again delighted to be the trusted legal adviser to our longstanding client Informa on another of its key strategic transactions. Advising on this offer for Ascential builds further on the strong relationships forged across our two organisations and nurtured over many years. We are also particularly grateful to the Informa legal team led by General Counsel Rupert Hopley, as well as to their wider Informa colleagues, for their continued collaborative approach and exceptional market knowledge, dedication and professionalism, all of which proved essential to achieving an expeditious and successful outcome for both companies.“
