Steve Monnington, CEO of Mayfield Merger Strategies summaries this months’ transactions and looks at funding for founders in the events sector.
It has been a relatively quiet month for completed transactions but a frenetic one behind the scenes for the potential buyers of CloserStill Media, primarily Private Equity firms, where first round bids were submitted on April 2nd and an expected valuation of £1.3m is being suggested. This will play out over the next few weeks but in the meantime we have the acquisition of more founder-led businesses to report on.
IEG ‘s further expansion in Brazil
Italian Exhibition Group has acquired 51% of Nutrition Innovation Summit (NIS) in Brazil, a trade show for the functional ingredients, health and supplement market in a transaction worth RS 20mn (US$3.8mn). NIS was launched in 2020, originally as Nutri Ingredients Summit by Adriano Pegorelli and Cassiano Facchinetti and takes place in Sao Paolo at the end of March. Brazil is one of IEG’s main markets and their largest deal to date there was last year’s acquisition of 51% of Fenagra (International Agroindustry Feed & Food Fair).
Diversified acquires Workspace Design show
The UK and Europe arm of Diversified has acquired Workspace Design Show, a classic UK founder-led business started by husband and wife team Charlie (ex IIR Middle East) and Esha Bark-Jones (ex DMG). The event, which focuses on the design of the working environment was launched in London in 2021, initially in virtual format and a mainland Europe event followed in Amsterdam in 2023. This is a new sector for the Diversified UK/Europe business and is Diversified Group’s 2nd acquisition of the year following the US parent company’s acquisition of Marine Money.
What’s behind the rise in event founder investment vehicles?
In the US, Events Venture Group (EVG) — a collective of founders who have successfully exited their own businesses — has already made five investments, with a sixth expected imminently. Meanwhile, Manta Media Capital (Manta) is actively assessing a pipeline of founder-led opportunities across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
To understand what’s driving this shift, I spoke to Toby Duckworth, founder of Manta, and Douglas Emslie, an EVG member and Manta investor. Both are proven operators: Duckworth co-founded 121 Group, which was sold to Hyve Group in 2021, while Emslie sold Tarsus Group to Informa in 2023.
So why now?. Duckworth points to two main factors. First, there is a growing pool of founders who have exited successfully in recent years and are keen to deploy both their capital and experience. Second, starting an events business has become materially harder. “It’s more competitive, staff are more expensive, and businesses require more capital than they did five or ten years ago,” he says. Emslie adds a structural dimension. The rise of private equity-backed organisers has accelerated consolidation, with their need to acquire smaller organisers to maintain growth. Founders are exiting earlier, often with significant capital, and rather than stepping away, many are choosing to reinvest in the next generation. At the same time, private equity provides a clear and credible exit route for well-built, founder-led businesses which will give the likes of EVG and Manta a good ROI.
Historically, founders who sold would simply start again — launching another event, scaling it and exiting once more. I was interested to understand why Duckworth has taken a different route with Manta. His answer is pragmatic. With so many attractive growth sectors emerging, it makes more sense to invest across multiple businesses rather than build a single, diversified portfolio from scratch. In effect, he can help scale several companies simultaneously rather than just one.
In terms of selecting companies for investment Duckworth’s focus is not on what founders are already doing well, but on what they are not yet doing. “We’re not just investing money,” he explains. “We’re looking at where we can add value. The gaps are the opportunity — whether that’s introducing one-to-one meetings or geo-cloning successful formats. That’s where the upside lies for both us and the founder.”
Beyond individual businesses, Manta’s model will capitalise on the power of a portfolio. Duckworth is particularly focused on the cross-pollination of ideas between founders. “This isn’t just about what the Manta team brings,” he says. “It’s about what the founders can learn from each other. Ias an example, if one finds or creates a great lead generation tool, everyone benefits.” He describes an ambition for Manta to become a “clubhouse for founders” — a network where experience, tools and ideas are shared freely. It’s a compelling proposition in an industry where practical knowledge transfer is often more valuable than capital alone.
This also highlights the key distinction between EVG and Manta. EVG operates primarily as an investment collective, backing strong assets with a relatively broad investor base and a more passive approach. Manta, by contrast, is deliberately hands-on, with a smaller group working closely with each portfolio company. I asked Emslie whether involvement in both models creates any tension. He doesn’t see it that way. EVG and Manta serve different purposes: one provides capital and backing, the other offers deep operational engagement. Duckworth agrees. “Manta shouldn’t be seen as a traditional VC fund,” he says. “The funding is the easy part — the money is already there. The real question is how we use our experience. We all have ideas left over from the businesses we built. Now we’re looking for the right places to apply them.”
And that brings us back to the bigger picture. The emergence of platforms like EVG and Manta is not accidental. It reflects a maturing industry in which successful founders are recycling both capital and expertise, barriers to entry are higher, and the path to exit is clearer than ever. For new founders, that combination may prove invaluable.
Transactions and partnerships announced since the last column.
| Buyer/Investor | Business | Sector | Country |
| Fiera Milano | Made in Steel | Industrial | Italy |
| IEG | Nutrition Innovation Summit | Health | Brazil |
| Diversified | Workplace Design Show | Design | UK |
| WTWH Media | HealthLeaders | Health | USA |