John McGovern, CEO, Grimes McGovern & Associates
Despite a dip in Events M&A activity as the year comes to an end, the industry has continued to show robust consolidation in October and November 2025, with buyers acquiring specialised conferences, trade fairs and exhibition brands across multiple verticals. We counted 9 notable deals during October and November.
A-Team Group picks up Eagle Alpha
The A-Team Group (part of UK-based Finelight Group) acquired the Alternative Data Conference from Eagle Alpha, adding a well-established event focused on data innovation within financial services. Eagle Alpha is based in Ireland, while the conference is held in New York. The deal enhances A-Team’s position as an organiser of fintech and data industry events.
Vindustrious bags the London Wine Fair
The F&B events sector saw a management buyout with Vindustrious’ acquisition of the London Wine Fair, one of the UK’s well-known trade shows for the wine industry. Vindustrious is a new company formed by the current event director.
Questex makes a double acquisition
Backed by PE firm MidOcean Partners, portfolio company Questex acquired both The Conference Forum and Versalinx Global Events, two respected organisers of specialised pharma, biotech and healthcare events. These deals further strengthen Questex’s Fierce Healthcare & Life Sciences portfolio. The acquisitions reflect a broader trend of major organisers investing in deeply technical, content-driven events that command loyal and senior-level audiences.
LBR takes over Legal Geek
In another PE-related deal, Intermediate Capital Group-backed Law Business Research (LBR) expanded its legal tech footprint by acquiring Legal Geek, a series of legal innovation conferences across Europe and North America. Following on from the merger of ALM and LBR earlier in 2025, this acquisition expands LBR’s event portfolio into the digital transformation domain.
JTB locks in Northstar Travel Group
Travel-sector M&A was also active, with two Asian buyers acquiring US assets. In October, the Japanese JTB Corporation completed its acquisition of Northstar Travel Group, originally announced in August 2025. This was an exit for US-based PE firm EagleTree Capital. Separately, India-based Fairfest acquired the WTE Miami travel show, marking its expansion into the United States. Fairfest already produces leading travel shows in Asia and, with this deal, strengthened its position as a cross-regional organiser of tourism and hospitality trade shows and exhibitions.
Events M&A activity signals that confidence in in-person formats remains high. Collectively, these transactions point to strong demand for specialised, community-driven event brands, with buyers increasingly looking at acquisitions across regions for rapid expansion.
Grimes, McGovern & Associates is a leading lower middle-market Mergers & Acquisitions firm advising media, events and information services businesses globally.
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
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