Ascential shareholders have approved the disposal of Ascential Exhibitions to ITE Group at a General Meeting on 25 June, following the announcement of the proposed sale earlier this year.
The deal is thought to be worth around £300m and will encompass Spring and Autumn Fair, Bett, CWIEME, Pure, Glee and BVE event brands, leaving the company with Cannes Lions and fintech event Money 20/20.
The deal is thought by many to be a sign of Ascential moving away from events and focusing instead on its digital brands, perhaps confirmed by the company’s recent acquisition of marketing intelligence service WARC, and the accompanying comments from CEO Duncan Painter: “Ascential enables its customers to win in the digital economy,” he stated. “WARC is an important step forward as we continue to grow our digital offering, adding breadth and depth to our marketing proposition. Alongside Cannes Lions’ The Work, our recent digital product launch, we will now have a digital subscription product of scale encompassing both creative excellence and marketing effectiveness.”
100 per cent of voting shareholders approved the deal, with 1,018 abstaining/withholding:
| Resolution no. | Shares For | % | Shares Against | % | Shares marked as Votes Witheld/ Abstentions |
| 1. To approve the disposal of Ascential Exhibitions to ITE Group plc | 355,680,385 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 1,018 |
