Acquisitions have always happened in the world of B2B events, but they’re noticeably on the rise, and increasingly, from newcomers to the world of events, such as private equity companies. This wider range of buyers isn’t exactly surprising, especially because of the buy, grow and flip structure that private equities search for; events are the perfect environment for this, considering their loyal audiences, recurring revenue and brand strength. Alongside this shift, more familiar types of acquisitions continue to happen too. We spoke with two B2B events professionals about their differing experiences of being acquired, one by a tech company, a newcomer to the events space, and one by a media company, a more typical acquirer in this industry.<\/p>\n
As exciting as acquisitions are for companies, an experience that often doesn’t get talked about is what integration actually feels like for employees, particularly when the acquiring company comes from outside the events industry itself. We have touched upon the acquisition experience during interviews with industry figures, who shared the reality of them: the difficulties they bring, but also the benefits.<\/p>\n
One senior leader we sat down with spoke on their experience of being acquired by a tech company. When asked about how they felt going into the move, they described the feeling of uncertainty that comes along with an acquisition: “There’s inevitably uncertainty attached to it. You find yourself wondering where things are headed, what the new environment will look like, and how the structure will end up.”<\/p>\n
This senior leader had a distinctive experience, with the events arm of the business given a good amount of autonomy when it was first acquired: “what followed was a period of independence. We were essentially left alone by the wider leadership.” Over time, as the events arm proved its value, that started to shift.<\/p>\n
Acquisition naturally brings about change, not just with process, but with people too: “there’s a lot of work involved in bringing different talent together and holding onto as much of it as you can throughout an acquisition. Of course, some people choose to move on regardless.”<\/p>\n
Change and acquisitions come hand in hand, but to grow, change is needed, and as reflected by this senior leader, “Things feel a bit unsettled to begin with. Then eventually it levels out and everything clicks into place.”<\/p>\n
We also had the opportunity to speak with another senior figure in the industry, acquired by a media company, who opened up about the unpredictability of acquisitions: “if you’ve ever been through an acquisition, on either side, you know it’s easy to underestimate just how challenging some parts of the integration can be.” This is seen particularly at leadership level, where you have to work through the strategy, and keep cost at the forefront: “A significant amount of time goes into assessing the systems both sides are using, working out where it makes sense to keep some independence, and where aligning could create savings.”<\/p>\n
On what takes the most time, this senior figure came back to the same problem highlighted by the other senior leader: people. “When you’re drawing on a new organisation’s talent, particularly around marketing operations, they need time to properly understand the business you’ve acquired, the audience it serves, and the tools and technology behind it. That process always takes longer than you expect going in.”<\/p>\n
As highlighted by these B2B events professionals, acquisitions are complex processes that take time and a well-developed strategy to carry out. However, this senior figure also offered a positive perspective on their experience with the media company: “That partnership pushed us to bring in content specialists and start producing our own content. It’s genuinely been one of the best parts of this journey for me.” This is a journey they didn’t originally expect, but are grateful to have gone on, one they linked directly to their own personal brand growth as well.<\/p>\n
As previously laid out, change is uncomfortable, but it is needed to grow, and that’s something this senior figure recognised: “Those have been some of the harder parts, but also some of the real wins, being pushed to try things the new organisation is comfortable with that you might not have had much exposure to before. That’s genuinely where the growth happens.”<\/p>\n
Navigating an acquisition is no easy process, and ultimately brings things into question, from people to strategy to commercial costs, whether the acquirer is a newcomer to the industry or a familiar name within it. But it also brings companies the opportunity to grow, change and develop with backing and support.<\/p>\n
Visit Jackson Barnes Recruitment\u2019s website\u00a0www.jbrecruitment.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about how we connect top commercial talent with world-class media and events organisations.<\/p>\n About Jackson Barnes Recruitment<\/strong><\/p>\n Jackson Barnes Recruitment delivers international recruitment solutions within the events, media, and publishing sectors. Jackson Barnes recruits Graduate to MD level in the following positions:<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Researcher<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Conference producer<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Event Marketing<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Sales \u2013 delegate, sponsorship & Business Development<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Event Manager<\/a><\/p>\n