Arc network companies hit shortlist record for the 2023 PPA awards

Arc network has enjoyed a strong showing in the 2023 PPA Awards shortlist – with five nominations from five entries, a record achievement for the business.

Sustainability flagship BusinessGreen enjoyed a particularly strong showing, with shortlist nominations in the B2B media brand, B2B editor and B2B event of the year categories, the latter for the ground-breaking Net Zero Festival.

Making a comeback to the shortlist is Farmers Guardian with 24 Hours In Farming, a B2B2C campaign at the cutting edge of digital and social influencer marketing.

The shortlist is rounded off with a nod in the employer of the year category for Incisive Media, reflecting the business’s focus on diversity and inclusivity and the increasing demand of the business’s staff to deliver on its sustainability and employee wellbeing goals.

Arc network is a fast-growing B2B media and events business with global operations across multiple sectors.

BusinessGreen celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2022, and is at the beating heart of the green economy and the net zero transition, led by editor in chief James Murray. James is namechecked as “an amazing communicator” and “very highly respected”.

Farmers Guardian, celebrating its 179th birthday in 2023, is the long-established champion of the UK agricultural sector. The brand is part of a B2B behemoth that also owns the LAMMA show and British Farming Awards, of Clarkson’s Farm fame.

“We are delighted to be shortlisted at these awards again this year, and for this recognition from our peers,” said Arc Europe CEO Jonathon Whiteley. “I’m doubly proud to be able to include Farmers Guardian among our shortlisted entries, plus of course BusinessGreen.

“We work incredibly hard to ensure Incisive is a good and fair employer, and I’m humbled for us to be nominated in the employer of the year category.”

Incisive Media has strong form at the PPA Awards. The business has won the innovation of the year category twice out of the last three years with its Delta and Nexus products, and took B2B event of the year honours in 2022 with its Sustainable Investment Festival.

The 2023 PPA Awards take place on June 28 at City Central at the HAC in London.


Mary Larkin joins Arc as Americas CEO

LONDON, 29 March 2023 - Arc, the global events, data, and media platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, announced today that events industry veteran Mary Larkin will join the network to lead its Americas business.

In the past seven months, Arc made two US-based acquisitions, HighQuest Group which includes media and events in agribusiness and investing sectors, as well as ETC, the HR technology and education media and events portfolios of LRP. These acquisitions added substantial scale to Arc and added a large international footprint to the network. Mary joins as Americas CEO and Executive Committee member to guide the businesses on their growth journey as well as work closely with Americas EVP, Tim Hart, on further development activity in North America.

Simon Foster, Group CEO of Arc, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Mary to Arc. She brings a wealth of experience in growing event portfolios and developing strong content-centric membership communities. I have long admired the passion and commitment that Mary brings to the industry, to her customers, and to her teams. I’m looking forward to working with her on developing our US business and having her counsel and experience on our Executive Committee.”

Mary said, “Arc has posted an impressive track record in building its platform, but I am particularly excited to join the network because it has chosen to build with strong, community-focused, brands in responsible and sustainable sectors. This is a group that is focused on the long-term success of the communities it serves as well as that of the brands and teams who passionately deliver those meaningful connections. There is so much potential with these incredible products, and the wider network, and I am looking forward to working with the team to develop the possibilities.”

Mary has been in the events and media industry for over 25 years. She joins Arc from Diversified Communications where she has been the US lead for the past five years, building her career there through brand, portfolio, and divisional leadership roles. She has worked across several B2B sectors, notably looking after the flagship seafood group at Diversified, where she was responsible for national and international development and expansion of the portfolio and industry news platforms. She is an active member of the events community, having been the chair of industry associations UFI and SISO. Mary is an avid supporter of cross-industry initiatives promoting women in events, increasing diversity and inclusion, and has been a vocal champion about improving events’ sustainability.

Arc

Arc is a B2B events, data, and media platform, backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital. Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organises over 150 events a year and operates critical content platforms in HR technology, agriculture and food, financial services and investing and education technology. Arc is over 300 talented colleagues located in the U.S., U.K., Netherlands and Singapore that focus on seeking out new ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however people need to come together to grow their businesses. For more information, visit www.arc-network.com or find Arc on LinkedIn.

EagleTree Capital
EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm that has completed over 40 private equity investments and over 80 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in North America in the following sectors: media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com or find EagleTree on LinkedIn.

Contact

Caitlin Read [email protected]


Tim Hart joins Arc to lead development activity in US

LONDON, 19 October 2022 - Arc, the global events, data, and media platform, announced today that Tim Hart has joined the network to lead business development, M&A, and operational expansion in the US.

Following Arc’s expansion in the US, including the acquisition of HighQuest and the announcement of the agreement to acquire the HR Tech and Ed Tech portfolios of LRP Media Group, Tim will be responsible for helping to integrate and grow these businesses as well as the wider US platform.

Tim is based in NYC and previously worked with Arc in an advisory capacity, supporting strategy and M&A activities. He brings to Arc a huge depth of strategic development experience in the US B2B events and media industry having previously worked as an executive at both Emerald and Informa.

Arc

Arc is a B2B events, data, and media platform, backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital. Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organises over 120 events a year and operates critical content platforms in HR technology, agriculture and food, financial services and investing and education technology. Arc is over 300 talented colleagues located in the U.S., U.K., Netherlands and Singapore that focus on seeking out new ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however people need to come together to grow their businesses. For more information, visit www.arc-network.com or find Arc on LinkedIn.

 

Contact

Caitlin Read [email protected]


Arc accelerates U.S. development; signs agreement to acquire HR Tech and Ed Tech portfolios

LONDON, 13 October 2022 - Arc, the global events, data, and media platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, announced today it has entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio of event and related media assets serving the HR Technology (“HR Tech”) and Education Technology (“Ed Tech”) sectors from LRP Media Group.  Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The acquisition will be the sixth and largest acquisition for Arc in the fourteen months since inception and will add substantial scale to the overall Arc platform. The assets will also significantly expand the Arc network in the U.S. creating a robust complement to Arc’s European business.

Simon Foster, Group CEO of Arc, said “This is a major development for Arc. The acquisition will expand our capabilities and operations in the U.S., and bring an experienced team, strong brands, and more high-growth verticals into the network. The HR Tech and Ed Tech teams have an impressive track record of launching and developing their brands, and we’re looking forward to working with our new colleagues to grow these portfolios and to further develop Arc in the United States.”

Ken Kahn, President & Founder of LRP Media Group, added, “The HR Tech and Ed Tech portfolios include nine best-in-class brands that the teams have done a fantastic job transforming and expanding over many years. We are incredibly proud of the teams and brands and believe that we have found a great home for them with Simon and the Arc team. We look forward to watching them succeed in this new era.”

These portfolios reflect Arc’s strategy to connect business communities wherever, whenever, and however they need. They provide a diverse range of engagement solutions for facilitating networking and business growth. The professionals are brought together through content platforms and networking events, like HR Technology Conference and Expo, Future of Education Technology Conference, HR Executive, District Administration and University Business.

This acquisition is expected to close at the end of October. Canson Capital Partners, an Arc founding partner, served as financial adviser to Arc. Jones Day and Plural Strategy Group served as Arc’s legal adviser and strategy advisor, respectively. JEGI CLARITY (www.jegiclarity.com), a pre-eminent M&A advisory firm for the media, marketing, information and technology industries, represented LRP Media Group in this transaction.

About

 

Arc

Arc is a B2B events, data, and media platform, backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital. Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organises over 120 events a year and operates critical content platforms in HR technology, agriculture and food, financial services and investing and education technology. Arc is over 300 talented colleagues located in the U.S., U.K., Netherlands and Singapore that focus on seeking out new ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however people need to come together to grow their businesses. For more information, visit www.arc-network.com or find Arc on LinkedIn.

 

EagleTree Capital

EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm that has completed over 40 private equity investments and over 80 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in North America in the following sectors: media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com or find EagleTree on LinkedIn.

 

Canson Capital Partners

Canson Capital Partners is a leading Alternative Capital focused Advisory and Merchant Banking firm. Providing senior advice and principal to principal engagement, we seek to connect sources of Alternative Capital with specific opportunities enabling our clients to achieve their long-term strategic objectives. Since inception, Canson has advised on transactions with an aggregate enterprise value of c.$70 billion, with a strong track record of partnership focused transactions, and have c. $500m AUM invested alongside our clients. Notably, Canson advised Providence on its £600m sale of Clarion Events to Blackstone. Canson Capital Partners is the trading name of Canson Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For more information, please visit www.cansoncp.com.

 

LRP Media Group

LRP Media Group, founded in 1977, is an innovative media giant serving millions of business and education professionals worldwide. Specializing in education administration, education law, education technology, federal employment, and human resources. For more information, visit www.lrp.com/about or find LRP Media Group on LinkedIn.

 

Contact

Caitlin Read [email protected]


Arc acquires its first US-based business HighQuest Group

LONDON, 24 August 2022 - Arc, the global events, data, and media platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, announced today it has completed its first acquisition of a US-based business. The transaction includes the events and media assets of HighQuest, Global AgInvesting (GAI), Women in Agribusiness (WIA), Unconventional Ag (UA), and the Ag Club.

Headquartered near Boston, HighQuest produces media and events for the agribusiness sector around the globe. Its annual summits take place in the US, UK, and Japan. The Global AgInvesting summits are the world’s largest gatherings of agriculture investors and sector stakeholders, and the Women in Agribusiness summits provide a network platform at the forefront of women’s excellence in agribusiness. In addition to the flagship GAI NY and WIA, the team also produces a suite of other live events, host webinars, run GAI News, and produce research for the sector.

HighQuest CEO, Greg Mellinger, said, “During the financial crisis in 2009, we launched our first conference in response to the ballooning interest in farmland investment. Since then, we’ve been on a tremendous growth journey as an organization becoming the world leader in connecting the agriculture investment communities, creating a platform for promoting women’s excellence in agribusiness, and continuously finding new ways to connect industry stakeholders. With an increasing global focus on food security the need to connect on sustainable strategies to propel forward the future of global agriculture has never been more pressing. We have big ambitions to assist our clients’ growth and success in this sector, and so we are extremely pleased to be partnering with Arc to further develop the business.”

Arc Group CEO, Simon Foster, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Greg and the team to Arc. This is a great business, in a high-growth sector, that also happens to be a perfect fit for our network. These brands sit at the intersection of our established sector communities - finance, agriculture, food, and sustainability - and have a particularly strong fit with brands like Professional Pensions, Sustainable Investment, and Bridge2Food. We look forward to working closely with Greg and the team, to sharing best practices throughout the network and helping to grow GAI, WIA, UA and the Ag Club.”

This is Arc’s first investment in North America and fifth acquisition in the last twelve months. Arc continues its development as the next generation events and media platform supporting B2B communities around the world.

Canson Capital Partners, a participant in the Arc partnership since its inception, served as financial adviser to Arc.

For more information on the brands

Arc

Arc is a B2B events, data, and media platform, backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital. Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organises over 100 events a year and runs some of the foremost content platforms in agriculture, food, business sustainability, and financial services. Arc has 220 talented colleagues located in the UK, Netherlands, and US that focus on seeking out new ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however, people need to come together to grow their business.

EagleTree Capital

EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm that has completed over 40 private equity investments and over 80 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in North America in the following sectors: media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com or find EagleTree on LinkedIn.

Canson Capital Partners

Canson Capital Partners is a leading Alternative Capital focused Advisory and Merchant Banking firm. Providing senior advice and principal to principal engagement, we seek to connect sources of Alternative Capital with specific opportunities enabling our clients to achieve their long-term strategic objectives. Since inception, Canson has advised on transactions with an aggregate enterprise value of c.$70 billion, with a strong track record of partnership focused transactions, and have c. $500m AUM invested alongside our clients. Notably, Canson advised Providence on its £600m sale of Clarion Events to Blackstone. Canson Capital Partners is the trading name of Canson Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For more information, please visit www.cansoncp.com


Vincent Brain joins Arc as General Manager of Bridge2Food

London, 20 June 2022 - 2022 - Arc, the global events, data, and media platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, announced today that experienced events industry leader, Vincent Brain, will join the network as general manager of its Bridge2Food business.

For nearly 20 years, Vincent has been working on brand transformation and expansion in the events and media industry. He began his events career at UBM, now Informa plc, where he notably led the global expansion of the Food Ingredients portfolio. He spent nearly eight years with ITE plc, now Hyve, as EMEA regional director, based in Turkey, and Group transformation and commercial director looking after business development and operational best-practice initiatives.

Vincent will be responsible for running the operations and growth plans for Bridge2Food and will work closely with Gerard Klein Essink, Founder of Bridge2Food, on the long-term vision and strategy for the portfolio. He will also collaborate with Arc Director, Sanjeev Khaira, on further expansion and integration activities for the portfolio.

About

Bridge2Food

Bridge2Food is a global leader in the plant-based foods and alternative proteins sector. Since 2002, it has been working to connect professionals, researchers and industry, to organize summits that grow ideas into actions, to educate in hands-on academy courses, and to develop ecosystems that foster innovation.

Arc

Arc is a B2B events and media platform, backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital. Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organises over 100 events a year and runs some of the foremost content platforms in agriculture, business sustainability, and financial services. Based in the UK and the Netherlands, Arc operates three businesses and has 200 talented colleagues focused on seeking out new ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however, people need to come together to grow their business.

EagleTree Capital

EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm that has completed over 35 private equity investments and over 75 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in North America in the following sectors: media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com or find EagleTree on LinkedIn.


Arc partners with Bridge2Food

LONDON, 16 May 2022 - Arc, the global events, data, and media platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, announced today it has entered into an investment partnership with Bridge2Food, a membership and events business in the plant-based food and proteins industry.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Bridge2Food operates the largest global collaboration platform for innovation leaders in the food and beverage industry, the Global Industry Plant-Based Foods & Proteins Ecosystem. Through its Ecosystem, as well as annual summits and academy courses, Bridge2Food has created a network of over 10,000 business and technical experts in the food industry.

Bridge2Food Founder, Gerard Klein Essink, said “For over 20 years, Bridge2Food has brought together a global network of professionals striving to advance actions for a better food world. We’ve been the go-to platform for research and innovations in the plant-based food community, and we are excited to advance and accelerate our development as part of the Arc network. Together, we will be able to open even more doors for the research and industry professionals in our Ecosystem.”

Arc Group CEO, Simon Foster, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Bridge2Food to the Arc network. Gerard and his team have long-championed the community-focused membership model for uniting industry and driving change. We are enthusiastically supportive of this vision and look forward to working with him and the team to continue this spirit of innovation and transformation both in this sector as well as throughout the wider Arc network.”

Bridge2Food joins Arc’s robust portfolio of content and event assets in the agriculture sector, reinforcing Arc’s commitment to the vital, globally-connected, industry. Arc’s existing agricultural portfolio, Agriconnect, includes flagship brands Farmer’s Guardian and LAMMA, as well as Farm Business Innovation, the leading series of rural diversification events.

This is Arc’s first investment in Europe, and fourth deal in the past eight months, following on from last month’s acquisition of Incisive Media. Arc is continuing its development as the next generation events and media platform supporting B2B communities around the world.

Canson Capital Partners, a participant in the Arc partnership since its inception, served as financial adviser to Arc. Collingwood Advisory advised Bridge2Food on the transaction.

About

Bridge2Food

Bridge2Food is a global leader in the plant-based foods and alternative proteins sector. Since 2002, it has been working to connect professionals, researchers and industry, to organize summits that grow ideas into actions, to educate in hands-on academy courses, and to develop ecosystems that foster innovation.

Arc

Arc is a B2B events and media platform, backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital. Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organises over 100 events a year and runs some of the foremost content platforms in agriculture, business sustainability, and financial services. Based in the UK and the Netherlands, Arc [operates three businesses and] has 200 talented colleagues focused on seeking out new ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however, people need to come together to grow their business.

EagleTree Capital

EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm that has completed over 35 private equity investments and over 75 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in North America in the following sectors: media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com or find EagleTree on LinkedIn.

Canson Capital Partners

Canson Capital Partners is a leading Alternative Capital focused Advisory and Merchant Banking firm. Providing senior advice and principal to principal engagement, we seek to connect sources of Alternative Capital with specific opportunities enabling our clients to achieve their long-term strategic objectives. Canson has advised on over $60 billion of transactions since inception, with a strong track record of partnership focused transactions, and have c. $500m AUM invested alongside our clients. Notably, Canson advised Providence on its £600m sale of Clarion Events to Blackstone. Canson Capital Partners is the trading name of Canson Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For more information, please visit www.cansoncp.com

Contact

Caitlin Read
[email protected]
+44 (0) 7727 860756


EagleTree backed companies, Arc and The Channel Company, acquire Incisive Media

London, 6 April 2022 - Arc, the global events, data, and media platform, announced today it has acquired Incisive Media’s financial services and business sustainability portfolios. These portfolios expand Arc’s sector diversity across the UK market with the addition of leading financial services and business sustainability brands such as Investment Week, Professional Pensions, Professional Adviser, and BusinessGreen.

The Channel Company, a leading IT-channel focused B2B marketing company, will acquire Incisive’s technology portfolio. The acquisition will reunite CRN and CRN UK under the same company. The technology portfolio also includes the Computing and Channel Partner Insight brands.

Simon Foster, CEO of Arc, said, “This is a pivotal step in the evolution of Arc. We are pleased to welcome Incisive Media CEO, Jonathon Whiteley, and the financial services and business sustainability teams to Arc, and look forward to growing and developing these portfolios. We also look forward to further developing the Arc platform through this acquisition with the addition of more resources and channels with which we can grow our network.”

Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company, said, “We are excited to add Incisive’s technology channel brands to our portfolio, and believe the reunification of the US and UK CRN brands will provide substantial benefit to our audiences and clients. This acquisition gives us the opportunity to link Incisive’s Computing brand with our Midsize Enterprise Services brand in a powerful, connected, global end-user community. Altogether, the acquisition results in a leading position for The Channel Company in content and events in both the US and EMEA.”

Jonathon Whiteley, CEO of Incisive Media, said, “Following a very successful period of growth over the last few years, Incisive Media is now ready for its next stage of development. The global platforms of Arc and The Channel Company offer natural homes for Incisive Media’s brands and people. Our audience and customer centric approach to growing and supporting the end markets that we serve fits squarely with the philosophies of both Arc and The Channel Company. This split allows us to support that growth in a relevant and focused way. I am excited about the future and look forward to working with Simon and his team at Arc to take Incisive Media into this next and exciting chapter.”

Cardean Bell advised Incisive on the transaction and Macfarlanes provided legal advice. Arc’s M&A advisor was Canson Capital Partners. Jones Day was legal advisor to both Arc and The Channel Company. Plural Strategy Group advised Arc and The Channel Company on commercial due diligence.

Incisive Media

Based in the heart of London, Incisive Media is an award-winning business to business digital media and events business established in 1995. Operating in the financial services, enterprise technology and business sustainability markets we have some of the most influential, engaging and well-known brands in business media.

We are a tech-enabled, forward facing marketing services business that connects and informs business professionals through our analyst-grade content and our market leading events. We offer our clients the ability to reach their customers through advanced and integrated digital marketing activations and we are constantly adapting to the ever-changing digital marketplace. www.incisivemedia.com

Arc

Arc is a B2B platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital that intends to redefine business networks by building the next generation events and media business. With a customer-centric approach, guided by data and intelligent insight, Arc seeks out ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however, people need to come together to meet, network, learn, and grow their businesses.

The Channel Company

The Channel Company is focused on the technology industry and its CRN brand is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2022. Headquartered in Westborough, MA, The Channel Company has been servicing the technology channel community for over 40 years. From CRN, the #1 source of technology news, insights and analysis for the IT Channel, to industry-leading events that connect clients to customers, to powerful research, consulting and engaging education to accelerate growth, to transformative marketing services to maximize investment, The Channel Company provides a full suite of outcome-driven services focused on addressing the channel’s unique needs worldwide.

The Channel Company is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm. www.thechannelcompany.com

EagleTree Capita

EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm that has completed over 35 private equity investments and over 75 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in North America in the following sectors: media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial. For more information, visit www.eagletree.com or find EagleTree on LinkedIn.

Canson Capital Partners

Canson Capital Partners is a leading Alternative Capital focused Advisory and Merchant Banking firm. Providing senior advice and principal to principal engagement, we seek to connect sources of Alternative Capital with specific opportunities enabling our clients to achieve their long-term strategic objectives. Canson has advised on over $60 billion of transactions since inception, with a strong track record of partnership focused transactions, and have c. $500m AUM invested alongside our clients. Notably, Canson advised Providence on its £600m sale of Clarion Events to Blackstone. Canson Capital Partners is the trading name of Canson Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For more information, please visit www.cansoncp.com.

Contact

Incisive Media - Sophie Eke - [email protected]

Arc - Caitlin Read - [email protected]

The Channel Company - Jade Surrette - [email protected]


Arc acquires rural and leisure portfolio from Fortem International

LONDON, November 29th, 2021 – Arc, the global events, data, and media platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, announced today it has acquired five rural sector events from Fortem International. These events will become part of Arc’s Agriconnect business (Farmers Guardian Ltd. and LAMMA Ltd.), adding additional depth and reach across the expansive UK agriculture sector.

The five co-located events in the portfolio connect UK farmers and land owners who are seeking alternative sources of income.

Sanjeev Khaira, who leads Agriconnect, said, “We are excited to add the rural and leisure portfolio to Agriconnect, which is already one of the UK’s largest agricultural information and events platforms. The addition of this portfolio, which includes leading events Farm Business Innovation and Holiday Park and Resort Innovation, gives us more opportunities to empower and inspire people and businesses in agriculture. We view this transaction as the beginning of a long term partnership.” The existing team at Fortem International will continue to run the portfolio through the next edition, November 2nd and 3rd 2022.

Tom Borthen, CEO of Fortem International said, “We are pleased to be entering into a partnership with the Arc team, and are excited for the growth potential of the rural and leisure portfolio as it becomes part of Agriconnect and Arc. We see this as a tremendous opportunity to learn from each other and leverage our collective content and events experience in order to develop more opportunities for our customers to come together and make the connections they need.”

This is Arc’s second acquisition as it continues to develop its position as a next generation events and media platform for B2B communities around the world. Canson Capital Partners (“Canson”), a participant in the partnership since its inception, served as financial adviser to Arc.


Arc acquires Farmers Guardian and LAMMA trade show from AgriBriefing

Arc Acquires Farmers Guardian and LAMMA Trade Show from AgriBriefing


First Acquisition for the Arc Platform

LONDON, August 19th, 2021 – Arc, the global events, data, and media platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, today announced it has acquired Farmers Guardian Ltd and LAMMA Ltd, the UK agriculture division of AgriBriefing. The businesses are leaders in the agriculture sector, delivering content and connections to over 130,000 members of the British farming community.

Robert Gray, EagleTree Capital Operating Partner, said “We are very pleased with this first acquisition for Arc. These are strong multiplatform brands and a highly appealing sector to have as the starting point for building the next generation events and media platform for B2B communities around the world.”

Sanjeev Khaira will lead the Arc team for this acquisition and work in partnership with existing Managing Director, Warren Butcher, and the management team to support and continue the strategic growth plans of each business. Together, they intend to accelerate the growth and prominence of the LAMMA and CropTec events, and expand the reach and influence of Farmers Guardian, Dairy Farmer and Arable Farming print and online brands.

After a decade of guiding and building these businesses, AgriBriefing has evolved its strategy to focus more on its global pricing, analytics, forecasting, market data and consulting units.

Rory Brown, CEO of AgriBriefing, said, “We are enormously proud of the job the teams of Farmers Guardian and LAMMA have done, but our strategic focus has changed. We could not have found a better home for our brands, and the teams who work on them. We cheer their future success from the sidelines as these businesses enter their next phase.”

Simon Foster, Arc CEO, said, “We are excited about this first step in the development of Arc. These two businesses are a strong foundation from which to start, and we look forward to building out the Arc network with similar businesses to create a platform to facilitate the future of networking, connecting, and supporting business communities.”

Canson Capital Partners (“Canson”), a participant in the partnership since its inception, served as financial adviser to Arc.

More information

Contact

Caitlin Read, [email protected], +44 (0) 7727 860756

About Arc

Arc is a B2B platform backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital that intends to redefine business networks by building the next generation events and media business. With a customer-centric approach, guided by data and intelligent insight, Arc seeks out ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever, or however, people need to come together to meet, network, learn, and grow their businesses.

About Farmers Guardian and LAMMA

The agriculture portfolio includes; Farmers Guardian, at the heart of UK agriculture since 1844 serving the community with editorial content and digital services, LAMMA, the UK’s leading farm machinery, equipment and services exhibition, CropTec, the leading UK knowledge exchange for progressive arable farmers and agronomists, and the British Farming Awards, the premier recognition event for the UK agriculture industry. In addition, the portfolio also has specialist information and media brands and services, such as Arable Farming and Dairy Farmer, as well as an integrated marketing agency, Insightful.

About EagleTree Capital

EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm that has invested approximately $2.8 billion of equity capital since inception. The Firm has completed over 35 private equity investments and over 70 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in the following sectors: media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial.

About Canson Capital Partners

Canson Capital Partners (Canson) is a leading Alternative Capital focused Advisory and Merchant Banking firm. Providing senior advice and principal to principal engagement, we seek to connect sources of Alternative Capital with specific opportunities enabling our clients to achieve their long-term strategic objectives. Canson has advised on over $54 billion of transactions since inception, with a strong track record of partnership focused transactions, and have c. $500m AUM invested alongside our clients. Notably, Canson advised Providence on its £600m sale of Clarion Events to Blackstone. Canson Capital Partners is the trading name of Canson Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

About AgriBriefing

AgriBriefing (www.agribriefing.com) employs more than 200 people across London; Preston, UK; Paris, France; Toulouse, France; and Tom’s River, New Jersey, USA.

The management team includes CEO Rory Brown, CFO Rupert Levy and Non-Executive Chairman Gehan Talwatte.