GES is being sold to a US-based private equity firm, Truelink Capital for US$535m.
The agreement between GES’s parent company, Viad Corp and Truelink includes GES Exhibitions, experiential agency Spiro, plus onPeak, Showtech and Visit, which provide accommodation, power/lighting and registration services.
The acquisition is expected to complete before the end of the year when GES will become a privately owned company within Truelink’s business portfolio.
Derek Linde, current GES president (pictured) will assume the role of president and CEO following completion. He will be joined by Jeff Quade, GES NA Exhibitions president, Jason Stead, GES EMEA Exhibitions president, and Jeff Stelmach, Spiro president.
Linde said: “This is an exciting time for GES. The business has tremendous momentum and our team is driving strong revenue growth, margin expansion, and client service. The publicly traded Viad conglomerate has been a great home to GES for decades and we are excited to start a new chapter as a private company with Truelink, who believe in our ability to continue delivering industry leadership, innovation and growth.”
