TIDMINF
Informa PLC
27 July 2023
27 July 2023
Saudi Arabia's Events Investment Fund acquires stake in Tahaluf,
the Informa-KSA strategic joint venture supporting Vision 2030
-- Strategic joint venture combines the expertise of Informa,
Events Investment Fund, SAFCSP and SELA
-- Tahaluf will launch new B2B and B2C live events and services
-- JV also plans to bring iconic Informa brands to Saudi Arabia
LONDON - Events Investment Fund (EIF), a part of National
Development Fund has acquired a stake in Tahaluf, the Saudi Arabian
large-scale live events company created through a strategic joint
venture between the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming
and Drones (SAFCSP) and Informa, the international academic
markets, B2B markets and digital services group.
SELA, the Saudi owned event production company renowned for its
creation of spectacular event experiences intends to join the joint
venture in the near future.
This investment is in line with EIF's strategy to develop a
sustainable infrastructure for the culture, tourism, entertainment
and sports sectors across the Kingdom, by building multiple world
class venues by 2030.
By leveraging Informa's global expertise, Tahaluf will launch
new B2B and B2C events focused on strategically important sectors
such as technology, real estate, pharmaceuticals, food, health and
beauty, tourism and hospitality.
Following the highly successful launches of award-winning tech
events LEAP and Black Hat Middle East, and the artificial
intelligence event DeepFest in the Kingdom, Tahaluf plans to launch
further diverse original concept events, including the Saudi
Maritime Congress, Global Health Exhibition and Inflavour, for the
food industry. Tahaluf will also bring iconic Informa brands to
Saudi Arabia including Cityscape, CPHI and Cosmoprof, serving the
global real estate, pharmaceutical and beauty industries
respectively.
In a span of two years, the founding partners of Tahaluf -
SAFCSP and Informa - together with the Ministry of Communications
and IT, have turned LEAP into the world's most attended tech event
with attendance reaching 172,000 in 2023. Tahaluf's strategy is to
super charge other launch events at similar rates.
The joint venture supports the Kingdom's Vision 2030 with
respect to diversifying the economy and increasing its share in the
non-oil GDP within Saudi Arabia, by bringing global expertise and
foreign direct investment into the Kingdom and creating economic
and environmentally sustainable public/private partnerships. The
development of the meetings, incentives, conferences and
exhibitions ("MICE") ecosystem will support the contribution of the
tourism sector to annual GDP, from its current rate of three
percent to more than 10 percent by 2030.
The acquisition of a stake in Tahaluf, meaning 'Alliance' in
Arabic, was formally announced with a signing ceremony at Informa's
headquarters in London yesterday (26July 2023). In attendance were
Lord Stephen Carter CBE, the Group CEO of Informa PLC; Faisal Al
Khamisi, SAFCSP Chairman; Ahmed AlJasser, acting CEO of EIF;
Alrayan Gadouri Chief of Staff of Sela; Muteb Al Qani CEO SAFCSP;
Mike Champion, CEO of Tahaluf, and other representatives of the JV
group.
Lord Carter said: "Tahaluf is a dynamic and ambitious
initiative, and we are proud that Informa's expertise is part of
delivering world-class, sustainable events in Saudi Arabia. The
incredible success of events such as LEAP have demonstrated the
power of the Tahaluf collaboration, and this increased investment
will accelerate its impact across sectors."
Faisal Al Khamisi, said: "By aligning our upcoming portfolio of
events with Saudi Vision 2030's objectives and partnering with the
leading key players in the industry, the results can be efficiently
transformative. This goes far beyond the shows and events to
transferring knowledge, building talents, attracting business
tourism, and showcasing Saudi Arabia as the leading destination for
events across the entire region."
Ahmed AlJasser, said: "We at EIF are honored and delighted to be
part of this joint venture with such an internationally renowned
industry leader and look forward to working closely with Tahaluf as
we develop the nascent MICE ecosystem in the Kingdom together and
move forward in our mission to develop a world-class entertainment
and events infrastructure. This will position the Kingdom as a
global hub for international events in the region, in line with
Vision 2030 plans."
Dr. Rakan Alharthy, Managing Director and CEO of Sela, said:
"We're passionate about delivering stand-out events and this is an
exciting opportunity to expand our presence in this growing sector.
We look forward to working with our partners in delivering another
key milestone in the Kingdom's Vision 2030 blueprint."
Mike Champion, CEO of Tahaluf, added "Tahaluf will scale up at a
rate rarely seen in the events industry, as it continues to employ
some of the region's best events talent to deliver record-breaking,
award-winning events like Black Hat MEA and LEAP. With EIF, SAFCSP
and Informa as shareholders, the company is strategically
positioned to deliver outstanding quality events, that help to
transform and develop the Kingdom's MICE sector."
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July 27, 2023 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)
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