NEW YORK CITY — Forge, the new business combining Emerald and Questex, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Becker’s Healthcare, a media and events platform serving hospital, health system and healthcare executives.
This deal will include all of Becker’s media and events assets, including its 16 annual conferences, more than 12 digital publications and portfolio of newsletters, podcasts and executive communities, and expand Forge’s presence in healthcare and strengthen the position of its Healthcare & Life Sciences market.
Forge will combine Becker’s with its existing healthcare portfolio, Fierce Healthcare and Life Sciences, and create a scaled 365-day omnichannel platform reaching key decisionmakers across the healthcare ecosystem.
“For Forge, this is exactly the kind of opportunity we are looking for: a strong business with a valuable audience and brand that can become even more powerful when connected to complementary capabilities, content, events, data and commercial solutions across the portfolio,” Paul Miller, FCIM, Forge’s CEO, said. “What makes this particularly exciting for Forge is that this is one of our first opportunities to demonstrate what the new company can do differently. Jessica Cole and her team have created a special industry leading growth business with Becker’s and we can learn from this as well as unlocking the combination with what Fierce has built in the last few years with Rhiannon James to create an unbeatable set of solutions.”
Related. Forge Unites Emerald and Questex
Building Bigger
Miller explained that Becker’s stood out because of the strength of its brand, its deep relationships with senior level healthcare executives and the quality of its content, communities and events.
“It has built a highly engaged audience among hospital and health system leaders, an important part of the healthcare ecosystem that complements the audiences we already reach through Fierce Healthcare and our broader life sciences portfolio,” Miller explained. “Healthcare is also a market where the lines between technology, clinical innovation, business models, policy, pharma, providers, hospitals, health systems and patients are increasingly connected. That creates an opportunity to build a much broader platform around the people and companies shaping the industry.”
Forge will use this move to connect more of the healthcare ecosystem while maintaining the trusted brands and communities that have made each business successful.
“A company that today may engage around one Becker’s event could have access to a broader set of healthcare audiences, content and experiences across the combined portfolio,” Miller said. “Likewise, we can bring Becker’s audiences new opportunities to connect with relevant communities and experiences across Fierce and the broader Forge platform. Over time, we see an opportunity to make the events more connected to the year-round customer and audience journey using content, first-party audience insights, digital channels and live experiences to deepen relationships and create new commercial opportunities.
“The goal isn’t simply to make a bigger event. It’s to build a bigger ecosystem around the event and the community it serves.”
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