Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Publicly traded buyer puts on Monaco event
Show Management, the decades-long producer of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, has been bought by London-based global exhibitions company Informa in a $133 million deal.
The transaction, announced Thursday, includes Show Management’s four other Floridabased maritime shows, the Palm Beach International Boat Show, Yachts Miami Beach, St. Petersburg Power and Sailboat Show, and the Suncoast Boat Show.
The five Florida shows will boost Informa’s stable of boating and yachting events to six, which includes the Monaco Yacht Show, considered the leading event for the super-yacht industry.
Informa has more than 7,500 employees across more than 20 countries. Its stock is traded on the London Stock Exchange.
“With this acquisition, Informa Exhibitions becomes the world’s leading yacht show organizer,” Charlie McCurdy, CEO of Informa’s global exhibitions unit, said in a statement. “Combining the world’s premiere show, based in Europe, with these five shows in North America creates a scale player in this attractive and growing [segment], further strengthening our relationship with leading yacht brokers and builders.”
The Fort Lauderdale-based events producer, formally known as Yachting Promotions Inc., employs about 50 people locally in addition to hundreds of part-time employees who staff each show. Over the years, Show Management has managed its three South Florida boat shows through contracts with their respective owners.
The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and Palm Beach International Boat Show, for example, are respectively owned by trade groups Marine Industries Association of South Florida, and the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County.
The Yachts Miami Beach event was co-owned by Show Management and the International Yacht Brokers Association.
On Thursday, Cindy Sailor, IYBA’s executive director, said it will retain its stake in Yachts Miami Beach and expects Informa to continue the association’s contract with Show Management, which runs through 2042.
“We feel certain that the strength and popularity of our show will complement Informa’s leading show held in Monaco, and that together we will continue to grow and succeed in the recreational boating industry,” said Phil Purcell, president and CEO of MIASF, the Fort Lauderdale show’s owner since 1961.
Purcell said the trade group looks forward to working closely with Informa over the remainder of its current 30-year management agreement with Show Management, which was signed a year ago and runs through 2046.
Show Management has since 1976 been producing the signature boating extravaganza, which today is considered the world’s largest in-water boat show. In recent years the event has attracted more than 105,000 visitors from 53 countries and generated about $508 million in sales, according to MIASF.
On a conference call Thursday with Efrem “Skip” Zimbalist III, Show Management’s president and CEO, McCurdy said Informa plans to retain its employees and the company’s name.