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CloserStill Media has acquired ROAR B2B, a London-based events media business, the companies announced Oct. 23, 2026. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
ROAR organizes five event brands: Environmental Services & Solutions Expo, Naidex, Contact Centre Expo, Customer Experience Expo and B2B Marketing Live. Under the deal, the brands join CloserStill’s existing infrastructure, technology and healthcare divisions, with each event continuing to serve its established professional community, according to the companies.
Held annually at Birmingham’s NEC, the Environmental Services & Solutions Expo attracts 15,000 attendees and 700 exhibitors, according to CloserStill. Photo: ESSE
The flagship event in the acquired portfolio is Environmental Services & Solutions Expo, which the companies describe as the UK’s leading environmental event. Held annually at Birmingham’s NEC, the trade show attracts 15,000 attendees and 700 exhibitors, according to CloserStill.
CloserStill Media operates events across Business Technologies, Healthcare, Learning HR & Education and Future Transport & Infrastructure sectors, with roughly 900 employees across offices in the U.K., U.S., Germany, Spain and Singapore, according to the company.
“This deal represents a new era for our business,” said Duncan Kirk, CEO of ROAR. Photo: CloserStill
Part of a Broader Growth Push
The ROAR acquisition follows a separate deal earlier this year in which Searchlight Capital Partners agreed to invest in CloserStill Media, joining existing investor Providence Equity Partners in a co-control structure to support the company’s next phase of expansion, as TSNN reported at the time.
Reuters estimated that deal valued CloserStill at more than $1.6 billion. CloserStill, founded in 2008 and headquartered in London, operates more than 200 brands across technology, learning and HR, healthcare, and future transport and infrastructure sectors.
Gareth Bowhill, CEO of CloserStill Media, said the sectors represented by the ROAR brands are “a natural fit” with CloserStill’s existing infrastructure, technology and healthcare portfolios. Photo: CloserStill
What the Companies Are Saying
“This deal represents a new era for our business,” said Duncan Kirk, CEO of ROAR, in a statement. “We have built a successful portfolio of sector leading events in important growth markets, and have developed an entrepreneurial culture and a team of talented people.”
Gareth Bowhill, CEO of CloserStill Media, said the sectors represented by the ROAR brands are “a natural fit” with CloserStill’s existing infrastructure, technology and healthcare portfolios. “The acquisition strengthens those portfolios while giving the brands access to the scale, expertise and resources of the wider CloserStill Group,” Bowhill said.
