Manfield Partners was approached by an MBI candidate who was looking to acquire CWIEME from its founder. Manfield took a central role in the negotiations to acquire the business and fund the buyout through its network of investors.
However the MBI candidate was hired during the transaction into a senior role at Ascential (previously EMAP and then Top Right Group). Following his move, the management buy-in of CWIEME transitioned into an outright acquisition of the business by Ascential.
CWIEME is the Coil Winding, Insulation and Electrical Manufacturing Exhibition. Timothy House established CWIEME Berlin in 1996 and at the time of its acquisition was the world’s largest international exhibition of its type. In Germany alone it has more than 700 exhibitors from 40 countries at its show covering more than 13,000 net sqm of space.
Duncan Painter, CEO Ascential, said, “CWIEME is a large, respected global portfolio of events serving a growing $50bn market. With buyers concentrated in the worldwide automotive, energy and consumer electronics sectors these events will be great additions to the i2i Event portfolio. This acquisition underlines our strategy to act as a catalyst to support growth of our standalone operating companies, particularly internationally.”
Mark Shashoua, Chief Executive of i2i Events Group added, “This acquisition marks the beginning of an exciting period of international development at i2i Events. With technology constantly developing, this market is projected to show strong growth in the short to medium term. Over the past 16 years, CWIEME has grown into the most successful exhibitions and conferences in their sector and we are delighted to welcome them to the i2i portfolio of global events.”