On Monday, Apollo Global Management announced that funds it manages are acquiring two companies — Emerald Holding and privately held Questex — in all-cash deals. The goal? To stitch together a major North American B2B events and media platform. Think trade shows, conferences, and digital engagement tools, all under one roof.
The combined business would run about 160 events across a bunch of industries. Emerald brings its trade show portfolio, while Questex adds a digital engagement platform. Apollo says the idea is to keep customers engaged year-round and fuel organic growth in a fragmented market where there's still room to consolidate.
Shahid Bosan, a managing director at Apollo, noted that AI and digital tools are actually making in-person events more valuable. People want trusted, face-to-face interactions more than ever, even as technology advances.
Here's the deal math: Emerald shareholders get $5.03 per share in cash, which is a 42.1% premium to where the stock was trading before the announcement. That implies an enterprise value of about $1.5 billion. Emerald's board has already signed off unanimously. As of March 31, Apollo had $3.56 billion in cash and equivalents, so it's not exactly stretching.
Onex Corporation, which owns more than 90% of Emerald's outstanding shares, has agreed to vote in favor. Once the deal closes, Emerald will become private and its shares will stop trading on the NYSE. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, assuming regulators give the green light and other customary conditions are met.
In the meantime, Emerald's board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.015 per share for the quarter ending June 30, payable June 1 to shareholders of record as of May 21. And Emerald canceled its previously scheduled first-quarter earnings call, which makes sense given the acquisition news.
