Blackstone acquires iGaming Business parent company Clarion
Clarion Events, the parent company of iGaming Business, has been acquired by private equity group Blackstone, it was announced today.
Blackstone takes over as majority shareholder from Providence Equity Partners, which acquired the events business in 2015.
In an email to staff on Friday, Clarion chief executive Russell Wilcox said the company had been searching for additional investment since the beginning of the year and added: “I’m delighted to be able to say that we have reached a successful conclusion to this process and that we have secured Blackstone as our new majority shareholder.
“Blackstone are one of the largest and most respected private equity investment houses in the world. From the start of this process it has been clear that they share our expansive vision for how we can grow and develop the company. We’re obviously excited by their resources, their network, and by the many ways in which they’ll be able to support us in the future.”
In an announcement this morning, Blackstone’s head of European private equity at Blackstone, Lionel Assant, said: “Clarion’s leading position in its markets combined with its strong management team will enable the company to continue growing both organically and through M&A. Blackstone has a significant track record of investing in media businesses as well as buy and build platforms. We look forward to working together with management to capitalise on its success.”
As well as iGaming Business, Clarion also owns the rights to more than 180 events in 50 countries. Its headquarters is in London and it has 950 employees across its 13 worldwide offices.
The news comes less than a week after Blackstone launched a takeover bid for payment provider Paysafe as part of a consortium with CVC Capital Partners.
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