Searchlight Capital Partners Acquires Global Events Business Hyve in Partnership with Providence Equity Partners

Searchlight Capital Partners (“Searchlight”), a leading global private investment firm, has today completed its acquisition of Hyve, a global events business, in partnership with Providence Equity Partners (“Providence”). The transaction values Hyve at approximately £524 million on an enterprise value basis.

Founded 1991, Hyve is a next-generation global events business operating a portfolio of renowned in-person and tech-enabled events including Shoptalk, Bett, Mining Indaba, and Fintech Meetup.   Searchlight and Providence’s investment will enable Hyve to continue accelerating its impressive growth trajectory and will allow it to further enhance its events portfolio as well as to deliver new and innovative offerings to its clients.

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve, expressing his optimism for the new ownership, has stated, “We are delighted to embark on this new and exciting chapter in Hyve’s journey with two investors who support our vision and strategy. The acquisition provides Hyve with increased opportunities for growth and evolution and will allow us to deliver ever-more game changing impact for our customers, exhibitors, and partners.”

James Redmayne, Partner at Searchlight, said “We are looking forward to partnering with Mark and Hyve’s hugely talented leadership team, alongside Providence, as we embark on the exciting next chapter of the firm’s journey. The company’s incredible transformation in recent years has established it as an industry leader, with a well-balanced portfolio of leading global events, which provide Hyve’s customer communities with the highest quality opportunities to network and trade.”  Nicolo Zanotto, Partner at Searchlight, added “We look forward to fulfilling our promise of being a supportive shareholder and helping the Hyve team deliver on its wide range of compelling organic and acquisitive growth plans.”

Andrew Tisdale, Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners, concluded, “We believe Hyve is an outstanding business with a strong platform underpinned by high-quality brands and events. We look forward to leveraging Providence’s knowledge and experience investing in the events industry, as well as our capital resources and partnership with Searchlight, to support Mark and his team in pursuing Hyve’s full growth potential, including by enhancing its market-leading events portfolio, accelerating its digital initiatives and omnichannel investment strategy, and through value-enhancing acquisitions.”

The acquisition was effected through Heron UK Bidco Limited (“Bidco”), a newly incorporated entity formed by funds advised by Searchlight and Providence for the purposes of making an offer for Hyve.