Cleveland – Marketplace Events acquired a half-dozen consumer shows from Southern Shows, Inc., in late December, including the annual Southern Christmas Show held in Charlotte, NC.
All six of the events involved in the holiday-rush transaction are held in North Carolina. Along with the Christmas show, Marketplace also picked up:
•Southern Spring Home & Garden Show
•Southern Ideal Home Show – Charlotte
•Southern Ideal Home Show – Greensboro
•Southern Ideal Home Show – Raleigh – Spring
•Southern Ideal Home Show – Raleigh – Fall
•Southern Christmas Show
“We are excited to expand our presence in North Carolina and to continue the Southern Shows tradition of providing high-quality, dynamic events for exhibitors in these markets,” said Marketplace CEO Tom Baugh. Acquiring what is arguably the most successful holiday show in the country, the Southern Christmas Show, to anchor our rapidly expanding North American holiday show portfolio, is a unique opportunity to accelerate growth.”
The Southern Christmas Show draws around 110,000 attendees over its 12-day run in mid-November. Marketplace currently organizes holiday shows in Kansas City, Minneapolis and Indianapolis. Christine Cipriano, who has run the Southern Christmas Show for 20 years, will join Marketplace as show manager; Marketplace will also open new offices in Charlotte and Raleigh.
The sale reduces Southern Shows’ portfolio to an even dozen: the Southern Farm Show and the 11-show Women’s Show Series.
Corporate Solutions of Westport, Connecticut was the exclusive advisor to Southern Shows in arranging, structuring and negotiating the transaction.
Reach Tom Baugh at (888) 248-9751 or tom@marketplaceevents.com; David Zimmerman, President of Southern Shows, at (704) 376-6594 or dzimmerman@southernshows.com
