Lenders Pitch Debt Packages for Clarion Events With New Financing Likely Up to £900M TLB

The sale of U.K. corporate events business Clarion Events is underway with information memoranda distributed in the past weeks, sources told Octus, formerly Reorg.

Prospective lenders are pitching multicurrency debt packages including sterling and dollars following a Goldman Sachs-run lender education, the sources said. The new financing to support the potential buyout is likely to be a term loan B of around £900 million, the sources added.

Sell-side Goldman Sachs is marketing the company off £170 million EBITDA, the sources said.

The company could be valued at up to £2 billion and potential bidders include sponsors CVC, KKR, PAI Partners and Ardian, according to Reuters. Private equity firms find it difficult to find a growth story for the business, the sources noted.

In October 2024, Moody’s Ratings upgraded Clarion’s long-term corporate family rating, or CFR, to B2 from B3, following the improvement in the company’s operating performance.

In 2023, the company completed a restructuring of its debt by subordinating shareholders loans and pushing out its RCF and term loan maturities by three years.

Clarion was acquired by Blackstone for about £600 million in 2017.

Clarion runs events globally in 11 sectors, including defense and security, electronics, gaming, and energy and resources. It runs gaming conferences under its ICE brand and in the U.K., Clarion runs the Olympia Horse Show and the Classic Motor Show.

Blackstone and Goldman Sachs did not reply to Octus’ request for comment.