Northern Edge Wins International M&A Deal of the Year Award
The Northern Edge-advised sale of Allworld Exhibitions to UBM plc has won the M&A Deal of the Year (US$250m-$500m) at the 9th Annual International M&A Awards. The ceremony was held on June 12th at the New York Athletic Club, New York City.
Northern Edge acted as lead advisor to the shareholders of Allworld Exhibitions throughout the transaction, which was one of the largest and most complex deals in the mid-market in 2016. Northern Edge designed and managed a highly competitive process, with strong interest from both corporate buyers and leading global private equity funds, culminating in one of the highest valuations ever paid for an events business. Other advisors on the deal included JP Morgan Cazenove, KPMG, Ernst & Young and legal advisors Herbert Smith Freehills and Allen & Overy. Read more about the deal here.
Robert Goldsmith, President and CEO of Northern Edge, remarked,
“The Allworld transaction drew on our core capabilities: globe-spanning outreach to the widest variety of potential buyers, an active and proven process, and persistence in driving the best deal and terms from multiple interested parties. This is the same approach we have applied to more than 600 successful transactions in the last decade alone, across a range of industries and transaction sizes.”
Northern Edge Director Jonathan Dunn, who led a Northern Edge deal team comprising experienced professionals from our offices in the UK and US, said:
“It’s always gratifying to be recognized by the financial services community for the work we do for our clients. We’re obviously delighted to win this highly prestigious accolade, in a hugely competitive category.”
Northern Edge Director Greg Garland, who designed and ran the transaction process, commented:
“The Allworld Exhibitions deal was dynamic and technically complex. It was a landmark deal for Northern Edge, but bore many of the characteristics of the proven Northern Edge process. Its success – as acknowledged by the judges – demonstrates that the Northern Edge approach to selling companies for maximum value works for any deal size.”
David Fergusson, President and Co-CEO of The M&A Advisor, said:
“For the third year in a row, the increase of cross border M&A eclipsed the growth of domestic M&A during 2016. The 9th Annual International M&A Awards celebrate the creativity, perseverance and ingenuity of our industry’s leading corporate finance professionals, whose contribution to the global M&A market benefits businesses and consumers across the world.”
The Allworld Exhibitions deal won this highly prestigious international award ahead of high-profile transactions including the acquisition of Morrison Utility Services by First Reserve, and the merger of AAHC Inc with DYK Automotive LLC.
The transaction was also a finalist for two other awards:
- Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year ($250mm – $500mm), and
- Cross Border Deal of the Year ($250mm – $500mm).
The M&A Advisor, the world’s premier “think tank” and leadership organization for M&A, restructuring and financing professionals, has been honoring the leading international M&A transactions, companies and dealmakers since 2009. This year, winners were selected from over 260 participating companies.