GL events — M&A Activity 2018

Apr 5, 2018

ACQUISITION OF THE CONTROLLING INTEREST IN FISA, CHILE'S LEADING PROFESSIONAL EXHIBITION ORGANISER

COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIP IN JAPAN

GL EVENTS (ISIN: FR0000066672 - TICKER: GLO), THE INTEGRATED EVENT INDUSTRY GROUP, ANNOUNCES ITS ACQUISITION OF THE CONTROLLING INTEREST IN FISA, CHILE'S LEADING PROFESSIONAL EXHIBITION ORGANISER (PEO), AND A COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIP IN JAPAN WITH THE PR AGENCY, SUNNY SIDE UP.

FISA, CHILE'S LEADING PEO

GL events and SNA (Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura) have finalised their agreement for acquiring 60% of FISA's capital from SNA, its founder and shareholder, who retains a 40% stake.

Created 180 years ago, SNA is the oldest trade association in Chile where it plays a major institutional role. Its goal was to form a long-term equity partnership with an international trade show operator contributing its methodology and network to strengthen existing operations and develop new events in Chile and Latin America.

Created 56 years ago in Santiago, FISA (La Feria Internacional de Santiago) is Chile's leading trade show, convention and exhibition organiser. With a staff of around 60 employees, it operates mainly in the B2B segment, organising events in sectors that include notably mining (Expomin – one the world's largest mining trade shows), construction (Edifica), shipbuilding (Exponaval), healthcare (Expohospital), security, the winegrowing industry, etc.

Its Chair, Mr. Ricardo Ariztía, commented: "This agreement will allow us to reinforce both FISA's international reach and its presence in Chile by partnering with a major player in the event organisation sector with more than 300 trade shows and 4,000 events per year bringing together more than 11 million visitors and exhibitors."

In 2018, FISA is expected to have approximately €10 million in sales with a normalised operating margin exceeding 12%.

For Mr. Olivier Ginon, Chair of GL events whose Group will exercise the functions of FISA chair and executive management, stated for his part: "One year after entering Chile in the services business (by acquiring a majority stake in Tarpulin, the country's leading provider of temporary structures and rapidlydeployed solutions), this acquisition and our goal to develop new sectors and trade show formats at FISA, will amplify the rollout of our business model in an open and stable economy. Synergies will be developed between these two companies."

COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIP IN JAPAN WITH THE AGENCY SUNNY SIDE UP

Created in 1985 in Tokyo, Sunny Side Up is Japan's leading public relations agency. With revenue of more than €100 million, it is an expert in brand activation and organising PR around major national and international events.

Combining the expertise of Sunny Side Up and that of GL events Group through its Tokyo-based agency, GL events Japan KK, will make it possible to offer a global event offering (from proposing the event venue, to strategic and creative content up to producing and staging events for sponsors and National Olympic Committees) and also to meet strong demand generated notably by major global events to be held in Japan in the upcoming years: Rugby World Cup in 2019, the Olympic and Paralympics Games of Tokyo in 2020.

The Japanese government is targeting 40 million inbound tourists by 2020 with the economic impact of these major events estimated in billions of euros up until 2030.

Looking beyond the sports dimension, 2019-2020 will be years when Japan also becomes the centre of attention both for tourism and large companies. Many nations and major economic players will seek to bolster their visibility by installing reception facilities and pavilions and organizing exceptional events.

NEXT PRESS RELEASE: 2018 FIRST-QUARTER REVENUE– 24 APRIL 2018 (AFTER THE CLOSE OF TRADING)

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT GL-EVENTS.COM

@GLevents

About GL events: The Group is a world-class provider of integrated solutions and services for events operating across the three main market segments: conventions, conferences, congresses; cultural, sports and political events; trade shows / B2B and B2C exhibitions and consumer fairs. GL events' activities are organised into three major business divisions. GL events Live offers expertise covering all business line specialisations and services for corporate, institutional and sports events to provide turnkey solutions from consulting and design to staging the event itself. GL events Exhibitions manages and coordinates the Group's

portfolio of more than 300 proprietary trade fairs covering a wide range of sectors: food industry, culture, textiles/fashion, manufacturing… GL events Venues manages a network of 40 venues (convention and exhibition centres, concert halls and multi-purpose facilities) in France and international destinations.

Present on five continents with operations in more than 20 countries, GL events has 4,300 employees. GL events is listed on Euronext Paris, Compartment B (mid caps).

INVESTOR RELATIONS MEDIA RELATIONS Erick Rostagnat Tel.: +33 (0)4 72 31 54 20 infos.finance@gl-events.com

Stéphanie Stahr Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 48 80 57 stephanie.stahr@cmcic.fr

ISIN FR0000066672 - BLOOMBERG GLO FP - REUTERS GLTN.PA - FTSE 581 LEI 9695002PXZMQNBPY2P44