UBM plc

UBM plc
Public limited company
Traded as
Industry Media
Founded 1918
Founder David Lloyd George
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Key people
 Dame Helen Alexander (Chairman)
Tim Cobbold (CEO)
Products Exhibitions
Marketing services
News Distribution
Revenue £769.9 million (2015)[1]
£158.8 million (2015)[1]
£107.7 million (2015)[1]
Number of employees
 5,000 (2016)[2]
Website www.ubm.com

UBM plc is a global B2B events organizer headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has a long history as a multinational media company. Its current main focus is on B2B events, but its principal operations have included live media and business-to-business communications, marketing services and data provision, and it principally serves the technology, healthcare, trade and transport, ingredients and fashion industries. UBM is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

UBM's head office in Blackfriars Street, London

History

The history of the companies that now make up UBM stretches back almost two hundred years. UBM businesses still publish many other titles that were launched in the 19th century, including Building magazine, launched in 1843 by Joseph Hansom, as well as Chemist & Druggist.[3]

The company was founded in 1918 as United Newspapers[4] by David Lloyd George to acquire the Daily Chronicle and Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. In 1929, the company merged with Provincial Newspapers, an owner of regional papers in the north; the next year, it sold its national papers.[5] The company continued for decades as a regional newspaper publisher, making acquisitions such as Yorkshire Post Newspapers in 1969.[5]

It acquired PR Newswire in 1982.[4] In 1985, it bought Express Newspapers and continued to publish the Daily Express for some 15 years.[4] It changed its name to United News & Media in 1995,[4] sold its regional papers in 1998, and bought CMP Media in 1999 for $920 million.[4] In 2000, it sold the Daily Express to Richard Desmond and adopted the name of United Business Media. It went on to acquire Commonwealth Business Media for $152 million in 2006.[6]

In 2008, UBM moved its tax headquarters to Ireland, but in 2012, the company announced its intent to move its tax base back to the United Kingdom.[7] In 2012, PA Group, the parent company of the Press Association, sold its 50% stake in Canada Newswire to joint venture partner UBM for £30.1 million.[8]

By 2015, UBM had rebranded itself as primarily focused on B2B events. Reflecting this, 82 percent of its business in 2016 derived from events and only 18 percent from other marketing services.[9]

Television interests

MAI was part of a consortium which bid for the ITV south and south east area, which formed Meridian Broadcasting in 1991. MAI began to expand following the successful launch of Meridian: in 1994 the company bought Anglia Television, the ITV franchise for the east of England,[10] and the following year became a major shareholder in the consortium that won the franchise for Channel 5.[11] In 1996, MAI merged with United Newspapers (via an agreed takeover by United) to form United News & Media (UNM). The resulting company owned the Daily Express newspaper, Meridian, Anglia, and a large shareholding (through the Yorkshire Post) in Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television, the owners of Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television.[12] The stake in Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television was sold to Granada, allowing them to take control of the two franchises in 1997. United News and Media later agreed to buy Scottish Television's 20% stake in HTV[13] and on 28 June 1997, HTV was taken over fully by UNM for £370 million.[14]

In 1999, plans emerged of a merger between UNM and rival Carlton,[15] however these talks failed when it appeared that Meridian would have to be sold off as a condition of the deal.[16][17] As a result, the television assets of UNM were sold to Granada, however due to regulations stating that the company could not control that large an audience share, the broadcasting arm of HTV was sold to Carlton in exchange for Central's 20% stake in Meridian.[17][18][19]

Reorganisation since 2005

In 2005 UBM re-focused on two principal businesses: PR Newswire, a global news distribution business; and CMP, an international events, print and online publishing business. It disposed of NOP which was acquired by GfK for £383 million in 2005.[20] In September 2006, NewBay Media acquired CMP Entertainment Media from United Business Media.[21]

On 1 July 2008, as part of a reorganisation of the corporate structure of the Group, United Business Media Limited (UBML) was created as a new holding company and parent company of the Group. UBML is UK-listed and incorporated in Jersey.[22] In 2010 the principal holding company of the United Business Media group (the “Group”) was organised into five operating segments:[23] Events, TD & M, Data Services, Online and Print.[24]

In September 2010, Canon Communications announced that it had agreed to be acquired by UBM.[25]

In May 2011, United Business Media officially changed its name to UBM plc.[26]

In February 2012 Yankee Group sold its annual 4G World telecoms and wireless trade show[27] to UBM plc[28] where it was incorporated into its UBM Tech division.[29]

Briefing Media[30] acquired UBM plc's UK agriculture and medical general practitioner portfolios for £10 million in February 2012[31] while UBM plc announced the acquisition of four trade shows in Asia for 19.4 million in the same month, marking UBM plc's continuing transformation into an events and B2B marketing services company.[32]

In April 2013, UBM's data services businesses were sold to Electra Partners.[33]

In October 2014, UBM announced it would acquire Advanstar Communications for a fee of $972 million.[34]

In December 2015, UBM announced the sale of PR Newswire to Cision for $841 million, subject to regulatory approval. UBM had owned the company since 1982. Some analysts interpreted this as a further step in the transition from a diverse media company to a B2B events company.[35]

Operations

UBM is a global B2B events organizer.[36] Its businesses are UBM Advanstar, UBM Asia, UBM EMEA, UBM Americas, and PR Newswire. It is also a shareholder of ITN and Press Association.

UBM's brands include:

Conferences

Journals

Major competitors

UBM's main competitors are International Data Group, Reed Elsevier, Nielsen, Informa and Centaur Media.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2015" (PDF). UBM plc. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "UBM". ubm.com. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  3. ↑ UBM History
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 UBM: History
  5. 1 2 "United Business Media plc History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  6. ↑ United Business Media buys Commonwealth Business Media for $152 million
  7. ↑ "UBM plans to move tax base back to UK", The Guardian, 18 October 18, 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "PA Group sells stake in Canada Newswire to UBM for £30.1m", The Guardian, 1 November 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  9. ↑ UBM business segments. Retrieved 4/6/16
  10. ↑ John, Murray (19 February 1994). "Heseltine clears way for Anglia TV bid". The Independent (London). Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "Key dates in the history of commercial TV". An Overview of Television in the UK. Ofcom. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "PRNewsWire". PRNewsWire. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  13. ↑ Mathew, Horsman (25 October 1996). "Hollick secures a stake in HTV as fight for franchises hots up". The Independent. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  14. ↑ Newman, Cathy (28 June 1997). "HTV succumbs to United News in pounds 370m takeover bid". The Independent. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  15. ↑ "ITV: 20 years of ups and downs". The Telegraph. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  16. ↑ Billings, Claire (21 July 2000). "United and Carlton call off merger". Media Week. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  17. 1 2 "Timeline: ITV 1955-today". Media Guardian. 7 October 2003. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  18. ↑ "United News sharpens focus". BBC News. 4 August 2000. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  19. ↑ "History". ITV plc. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  20. ↑ UBM sells NOP World for £383m
  21. ↑ UBM Has Sold CMP Entertainment Media to The Wicks Group, The Jordan, Edmiston Group, 13 September 2006 (retrieved 19 September 2010)
  22. ↑ Annual report of UBML 2008/9 page 62.
  23. ↑ Notes to the parent company financial statements at 31 December 2010 P146.
  24. ↑ Notes to the consolidated Financial statements 3 P88.
  25. ↑ Canon Communications LLC (16 September 2010). "Canon Communications to be Sold to United Business Media; Transaction Expands Global Reach... -- LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ --". prnewswire.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  26. ↑ United Business Media name change to UBM plc
  27. ↑ Mash Media Group Ltd. "UBM acquires 4G World exhibition and conference". Exhibition World. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  28. ↑ "UBM - News releases". Media.ubm.com. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  29. ↑ "UBM Tech". tech.ubm.com. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  30. ↑ "Briefing Media". Briefingmedia.com. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  31. ↑ "UBM - News releases". Media.ubm.com. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  32. ↑ "UBM - News releases". Media.ubm.com. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  33. ↑ Electra. "Electra Partners acquires UBM plc’s Data Services businesses",
  34. ↑ "Events organizer UBM buys U.S. rival Advanstar for $972 million" (Press release). Reuters. 1 October 2014.
  35. ↑ Rory Gallivan, "UBM to Sell PR Newswire to Cision for $841 Million" WSJ December 15, 2016
  36. ↑ "UBM". ubm.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016.

External links

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