New York, NY – Penton announced the acquisition of iNET Interactive, organizers of technical events in the data center and cloud computing-hosting sectors.
The terms of the deal were not announced. The transaction is the first for Penton since two acquisitions in 2013: Aviation Week and Farm Progress Group.
Bringing iNET into the fold adds the HostingCon brand, with conferences and trade shows in the U.S., China and Asia, to Penton’s portfolio of 50 events in five sectors worldwide. The deal also includes Data Center World, which takes place March 11-12 at ExCel in London.
The sale also includes a collection of websites, directories and AFCOM, the Association for Data Center Management, which includes more than 40 chapters and 4,500 members worldwide.
The iNET properties will be added to Penton’s technology group. Penton also has groups for agriculture, natural foods, infrastructure, transportation and design and manufacturing
Penton CEO David Kieselstein said the acquisition “doubles our tech sector footprint, and does so in exceptionally fast-growing segments.” The cloud, hosting and data center segments are expected to grow 25% to 30% annually in the near future.
“We will be able to accelerate iNET’s growth by leveraging our excellent shared service growth capabilities,” Kieselstein said. “This is a proven model at Penton, and we are excited to have found a perfect fit in iNET.”
Reach David Kieselstein at (212) 204-4200 or david.kieselstein@penton.com
