Mergers & Acquisitions: Geopolitics Is Noise. Business Is Business

Why the exhibition industry must not let world politics hijack commercial judgment — and why Asia, family firms, consolidators and strong German highlights will shape the next twelve to twenty-four months. And will there be a spring awakening in Germany?

by Bjoern Kempe* || 8 October 2026

Geopolitics exists. Nobody who moves between Bangkok, Shanghai, Berlin and the Gulf pretends otherwise. What bothers me is how easily our industry lets that noise take the wheel. Markets become narratives, deals become flags. That must not become the point of the business. Plain speak: business first. Watch the world, yes. Let it drive the P&L, no.

Supply chains, visas and sanctions touch every portfolio. But there is a difference between impact and organising principle. Trade shows are marketplaces, not foreign ministries. Forget that, and you buy and sell in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Regionally the picture is mixed. The GCC and Europe are rather stagnating or slightly down, depending on topic and segment. I expect Europe to calm and sort itself a little. Southeast Asia, Asia and China remain growth markets: themes that pull locally, communities that grow, organisers who often decide faster. Think Asia-first and Europe-realistically.

At the same time, Germany’s major venues show that scale and partnerships still deliver mega-launches. At Deutsche Messe in Hannover, DSEI Germany opens in 2027 (9–12 March) — a new world-class defence and security show, biennial, with the organisers of London’s DSEI. Also in Hannover, Deutsche Messe and dmg events launch Europe Energy Week (5–8 April 2027), a major energy platform co-located with Hannover Messe: energy supply meeting industrial demand.

In Munich, Messe München partners with bvitg so that DMEA — Europe’s leading digital-health event — moves to the Munich exhibition centre from 13–15 April 2027. And Messe Berlin stays strong with InnoTrans as the global transport-technology flagship; in 2027 InnoTrans Asia debuts in Singapore. These are highlights, not footnotes.

What is changing at start-up and family-company level is one of the most interesting shifts since Covid: many are bringing shows to market this year and next — fresh inventory, fresh owners. In parallel, funds such as the Exhibition Venture Fund (USA), Manta Capital and Steven Brooks’ firm remain a source of real surprises. At the top, Informa, Clarion, Comexposium, Closer Still and the broader top segment will keep consolidating. Two engines: big deals above, founding and succession below.

Over the next twelve to twenty-four months I expect both: large deals in the upper segment and a wave of private market entries — plus the German launch highlights named above. Take geopolitics as the organising motif and you will buy badly. Take business as business and you will see the moves earlier. Not louder. Sharper. The purchase of Clarion by Informa is only the beginning.

**Björn Kempe is the owner of Exposasia and designs, launches and organises trade shows in Bangkok, Shanghai, Singapore, Berlin, and the Gulf States.