Two leading B2C and B2B event producers are hitting the ground running in 2020 by acquiring events and forming new joint ventures.

Nationwide Expos Scoops Up Three Home and Garden Shows 

Consumer event producer RJ Promotions has sold three of its home and outdoor shows to Nationwide Expos, one of the largest B2C home show producers in the U.S. 

“Nationwide Expos is excited to take over where RJ Promotions left off with some new and innovative features to draw some great foot traffic in these markets,” said Jon Lewis, president of Nationwide Expos. 

The three shows include:

1. Iowa Home Show: Held each January at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, the event attracts 400 exhibitors and 4,000 attendees. The most recent show took place Jan. 10-12.
2. Iowa Flower, Lawn & Garden Show: Also held annually at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, it draws in 500 exhibitors and 8,000 attendees. This year’s event will take place March 15-17.
3.  El Paso Spring Home Show: Held annually at the El Paso Convention Center in Texas, the show boasts 400 exhibitors and 5,000 attendees. The 2020 event is set for January 25-27.

“These long-running consumer shows are the largest home and outdoor events in the regions that they serve. Nationwide Expos will leverage their existing exhibitor relationships to expand these and other regional home shows throughout the western portion of the country” said Nick Curci, president of Corporate Solutions, which served as exclusive advisor to RJ Promotions in arranging, structuring and negotiating the transaction.

Comexposium Seeks to Acquire Europa Group 

Global events organizer Comexposium has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Europa Group, a leading European medical and scientific conference organizer.  

The Toulouse, France-based company oversees 50 conferences, including EuroPCR and le Congrès de la Société Française d’Ophtalmologie, as well as websites and content products designed to serve scientific communities across the globe. 

According to Compexposium officials, the proposed acquisition marks a continuation of Comexposium’s evolution into the rapidly-growing healthcare sector. In June 2018, the company acquired the International Master Course on Aging Science, which organizes conferences geared toward plastic surgeons, dermatologist and ophthalmologists. 

With the addition of the Europa Group brands, healthcare would become one of Comexposium’s largest event sectors alongside food, agriculture and fashion, positioning it as the largest organizer of healthcare conferences in Europe.

Meanwhile, the company has also initiated discussions with Paris-based Vinexpo Holding to establish a new joint venture that would create the world’s largest producer of wine and spirits events.

Once formed, the new entity would boast a combined portfolio of 10 events serving more than 78,000 attendees and 5,900 exhibitors, including Wine Paris, World Wine Meetings and World Bulk Wine Exhibition Europe and Asia from Comexposium, and Vinexpo Bordeaux, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York, and Vinexpo Explorer events from Vinexpo Holdings.

Meanwhile, the business venture would also focus on creating new global events and developments to support the international wine and spirits sector’s continued growth. 

Comexposium acquired Adhesion Group in 2017 to develop its wine sector events and since then has grown the portfolio, including launching Wine Paris, the city’s first major international wine trade event.  

This the company’s seventh new development venture since April 2019, when Crédit Agricole Assurances became a shareholder. Compexposium’s new developments have included events in China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, the U.K. and the U.S. 

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