M&A activity snapshot
Event production is consolidating while its core market is still recovering. Trade shows remain below pre-pandemic levels: the CEIR Total Index registered 11.1% below Q3 2019 levels, and real revenues were 18.2% below 2019. Corporate and business events are larger; the Events Industry Council estimates business events generated US$1.3 trillion in direct spending worldwide in 2025.
The biggest platforms are changing hands or going public. Blackstone-controlled Encore, the former PSAV, filed to list its shares and reported $3.4 billion in 2025 revenue and $466.4 million in Adjusted EBITDA, a 13.7% margin. Viad agreed to sell its GES exhibition business to Truelink Capital for $535 million, and Apollo took trade-show organizer Emerald private, completing the acquisition on July 14, 2026.
Classification is messy, which is one reason data is thin. NAICS 561920 covers establishments primarily engaged in organizing, promoting, and/or managing events, such as business and trade shows, while the Census index assigns audio visual equipment rental or leasing to 532490. Many AV and staging companies therefore sit outside NAICS 561920 in government data.
Who is buying
Sponsor-backed AV platforms. Encore buys to add capabilities: in late 2025 it acquired FIRST, a brand experience agency, for total consideration of $97,533 thousand, of which $37,100 thousand was contingent. In Montréal, CDPQ took a minority stake in Solotech, which has completed 10 acquisitions since 2018.
Family-owned production consolidators. Clair Global, based in Lititz, Pennsylvania, acquired Clearwing in its fourth major acquisition of 2025. Earlier that year it bought LD Systems, a Houston provider of audio, video, and lighting production services.
Organizers and their owners. Apollo agreed to acquire Questex with the intent to combine it with Emerald. Organizers buy shows rather than equipment, but their owners shape demand for production vendors.
Adjacent rental and lender-owned platforms. One Rock Capital acquired a majority stake in American Furniture Rentals, an event and trade-show furniture rental company. Production Resource Group is now under the indirect joint control of KKR and Ares, following a European Commission clearance in October 2025.
What buyers look for
Venue contracts. Exclusive in-house contracts are the most valuable asset in event AV. Encore's contracts at nearly all of its approximately 2,200 venues establish it as the exclusive on-site provider of event technologies, and it generated revenue in 2025 from 98% of the same global venues it did in 2024.
Repeat clients and show recurrence. Not every event repeats annually. GES warned that some large exhibitions are held once every two, three, or four years, which makes year-to-year revenue lumpy. Buyers normalize for rotation before they set price.
Equipment base and capital needs. Encore owns most of the equipment it uses and rents specialized gear when needed. Buyers check the age of the LED, audio and lighting inventory, its utilization, and how much replacement spending the next owner inherits.
Variable cost structure. Encore reports that variable costs accounted for approximately 75% of its operating expenses in 2025. A target that flexes crew and subrental costs with event volume handles a soft quarter better.
What makes a strong company
An event production company that draws strong interest typically has:
- Multi-year exclusive or preferred-vendor agreements with hotels, convention centers, or corporate clients, with renewal history documented.
- A diversified client base across corporate meetings, trade shows, and live entertainment, so one cancelled show does not break the year.
- Owned, well-maintained equipment with utilization records, plus subrental relationships for peak demand.
- Clear labor arrangements. GES had approximately 100 collective bargaining agreements, with about one-third renegotiated each year; at McCormick Place, Illinois legislation governs display installation and exhibitors cannot transfer their rights to contractor personnel.
- Clean wage-and-hour records for part-time and freelance crew. Encore booked a settlement reserve for alleged wage and hour claims for certain employees in California, an issue buyers will check in any target.
Valuation and deal structure
No major data provider publishes a multiple series for small event-AV or staging companies. The closest honest proxies are disclosed deals. Truelink Capital paid $535 million for GES against GES 2023 revenue of $888,395 thousand, about 0.60x revenue by Axia's arithmetic. GES is an exhibition contractor, not a pure AV producer.
Organizer deals price higher. Apollo increased its proposed enterprise value to $1.5 billion for Emerald, against total Adjusted EBITDA of $127.1 million in 2025, about 11.8x by Axia's arithmetic. Organizers own recurring shows, which is a different asset from an equipment-heavy production company.
Structure often defers part of the price. The GES purchase price comprised $510 million payable at closing and $25 million payable one year from closing. Encore's FIRST deal included contingent consideration with an acquisition-date fair value of $37,100 thousand. Sellers should expect deferred or performance-linked payments tied to client and venue retention.
Outlook
Expect selective dealmaking through 2027. CEIR forecasts the Total Index to grow 2.1% in 2026, a slow recovery for trade shows. Corporate events are stronger: Encore says average corporate event spend in its core market has risen at a compound annual growth rate of 8% to 10% since 2019.
Two risks will shape prices. Encore flags that increased tariffs may raise the price paid for certain equipment and replacement parts, which matters for LED-heavy inventories. Employment in the organizer segment is growing, with NAICS 561920 private employment up 5.0% in 2025. Owners with venue contracts, repeat corporate clients, and well-kept equipment are best placed over the next 12-24 months.
Own an event production or AV business and want a data-backed view of value before you talk to anyone? Run the valuation tool or start at the Business & Facility Services overview. See also: trigger-based deal sourcing.