Events group CloserStill's owner picks banks for £1bn sale

The owners of 1 of Britain's biggest commercialized amusement operators has picked bankers to oversee a merchantability adjacent twelvemonth which could fetch good implicit £1bn.

Sky News has learnt that Providence Equity Partners, which has backed CloserStill Media since 2018, has hired Jefferies and The Raine Group to orchestrate talks with imaginable buyers.

City sources said this play that CloserStill's net trajectory meant that £1bn was apt to beryllium the minimum terms tag offered by prospective caller owners of the business.

The institution operates much than 200 specializer events, successful sectors including healthcare and technology.

In September, it acquired Billington Cybersecurity, an relation of shows successful the US.

CloserStill's show has, similar galore of its peers, rebounded since the nadir of the Covid pandemic, erstwhile galore league organisers feared for their survival.

Alongside Searchlight, different backstage equity firm, Providence besides owns Hyve, different large events organiser.

Other players successful the assemblage see Clarion, which is owned by Blackstone and which conducted an aborted merchantability process earlier this year.

Bidders for CloserStill are expected to see commercialized rivals and different fiscal investors.

Providence has been contacted for comment.