Trade shows :Nielsen Puts Outdoor Retailer, Other Trade Shows Up for Sale

Nielsen Holdings NV has hired an investment banker to seek buyers for its trade show business, which owns Outdoor Retailer, Interbike, the Health + Fitness Business Expo and the Imprinted Sportswear Shows, according to a report first published by Debtwire and picked up by reports by The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Reuters.

Credit Suisse Group AG will conduct a search for potential buyers.

Outdoor Retailer is major player in the human powered outdoor sporting goods industry. The biennial show provides tens of thousands of dollars in grant to boost participation in outdoor recreation and is the single largest source of revenue for Outdoor Industry Association.  

Nielsen Expositions owns 28 trade shows, making it the largest trade show operator in the United States, but represented just 3 percent of the company’s revenue in 2012. The company connected approximately 335,000 buyers and sellers at more than 60 trade shows and conferences in nine vertical last year. Its primary competitors are Reed Expositions, Advanstart and Hanley Wood.

Nielsen Exposition revenues reached $182 million in 2012, up 2.2 percent from 2011. Operating income grew 20 percent to $72 million.

 

( Source Nielsen through SortsOneSource )