Overview
- Apollo-managed funds agreed Monday to acquire Emerald Holding and Questex in all-cash deals and combine them into a North American business-to-business events and media company.
- Emerald stockholders will receive $5.03 in cash per share, a 42.1% premium that implies about $1.5 billion in enterprise value, with the board backing the deal and majority owner Onex agreeing to vote for it.
- Together the companies would run about 160 events across complementary sectors and link large trade shows with year-round digital communities.
- The parties expect to close in the second half of 2026 pending regulatory approvals, after which Emerald would be taken private and its stock removed from the New York Stock Exchange.
- Apollo did not disclose a price for Questex, which Yahoo Finance reports it is buying from MidOcean Partners, and the firm signaled plans for further acquisitions to build out the platform.