Portland, ME – Diversified Business Communications made a pair of acquisitions that will bolster its presence in the accounting profession and the growing field of 3D mapping.
The Portland show organizer acquired the Institute of Financial Marketing, which produces The Accounts Payable Conference & Expo, and Intelligent Exhibitions Limited, a British organizer owned by Versha Carter.
Intelligent Exhibitions organizes the biennial Ocean Business, which has been held in the United Kingdom since 2007 and was expected to draw 300 exhibitors and more than 4,000 attendees this Spring. “Since Ocean Business was launched in 2007, each show has literally tripled in size,” Carter said. “Ocean Business has now become such an important show to the maritime industry that this year we are seeing industry groups and societies arranging their own events to coincide with Ocean Business in Southampton.”
Carter and her team will continue to run Ocean Business as part of Diversified Business Communications UK. Carter produces two specialized conferences for the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sector — the International LiDAR Mapping Forum and the European LiDAR Mapping Forum (ELMF) – which will be added to SPAR Point Group, a division of Diversified that serves the 3D imaging technology sector with news and events in Europe, Japan and the U.S. The ELMF event will be co-located with a SPAR conference in Amsterdam November 11-13.
Nancy Hasselback, CEO and president of Diversified, told Trade Show Executive the addition of Intelligent Exhibitions also opened a door to potential future expansion. “We are seeking further expansion opportunities, both geographically and adjacent to Ocean Business and LiDAR,” she said.
The Accounts Payable Conference & Expo was held April 10-12 in Washington, DC and drew attendees from corporate accounting departments. The conference’s owner, RD Whitney, will continue to manage the event as part of Diversified’s Portland headquarters.
Reach Nancy Hasselback at (207) 842-5500 or nhasselback@divcom.com; Versha Carter at (0) 1453 836776 or versha.carter@intelligentexhibitions.com
