Apollo to merge Emerald and Questex in major B2B events play

What's the deal? Apollo Global Management is acquiring both Emerald and Questex to combine them into what it calls a leading North American business-to-business events platform. The deal, announced in May 2025, would merge two significant players in the trade show and conferences industry under Apollo's ownership.

Why now? The B2B events sector has rebounded strongly since the pandemic, with in-person trade shows and conferences returning to — and in many cases exceeding — pre-Covid attendance levels. Consolidation in the fragmented events industry has accelerated as private equity firms see an opportunity to build scale and pricing power by combining complementary portfolios.

What could go wrong? Merging two large events businesses is operationally complex. Overlapping shows could face antitrust scrutiny, and integrating corporate cultures, technology platforms, and client relationships carries execution risk. There's also the perennial question of whether the next economic downturn could cool corporate spending on trade shows and conferences.

The signal: This deal reflects private equity's growing appetite for asset-light, recurring-revenue businesses with strong cash flow profiles — a description that fits the events industry well. It also signals that consolidation in B2B media and events is far from over, as firms like Apollo bet that bigger platforms can offer advertisers and exhibitors more value through broader reach and cross-selling opportunities.

Read more: apollo.com