PSAV, a global leader in event experiences, and The Freeman Company, jointly announced today that the companies have entered into a purchase agreement for PSAV to acquire Encore Event Technologies, a global provider of event technology, staging and production services.
The combination of PSAV and Encore will join two companies with deep expertise and a shared commitment to be an invaluable global partner for the meeting industry. This transaction reinforces PSAVās mission of Connecting and Inspiring People by expanding the breadth of its capabilities throughout North America and Asia Pacific. The transaction is expected to close later this year. Terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.
Encore has a long and distinguished history dedicated to helping create high-impact meetings and live events for the hospitality industry. Encore operates as both an in-house partner to some of the worldās leading resorts, hotels and casinos, as well as creative production company for clients around the world.
āEncore is an ideal partner for the PSAV family of companies given its shared commitment to meeting and event planners and strong alignment with our purpose and mission,ā said Mike McIlwain, CEO of PSAV. āI am excited about what this means for PSAV, and more importantly our customers, as we continue to focus on more ways to create amazing event experiences wherever an event is held.ā
āWeāre extremely proud of the success everyone at Encore ā including our FAV Canada operations – have created in building one of the worldās leading in-house hospitality, event technology and production services businesses,ā said Joe Popolo, CEO of The Freeman Company. āAt Freeman we continue our mission to provide powerful brand experiences, which include our audio visual solutions, for association and corporate customers around the world.ā
āIt has been an honor to lead Encore and to witness its growth,ā said Ken Sanders, Chief Development Officer, The Freeman Company. āI want to thank everyone at Encore for applying their work, skills, dedication, and creativity to build this world-class company and I look forward to watching their continued prosperity as part of PSAV.ā Peter Wallace and David Kestnbaum of Blackstoneās Private Equity team commented, āWe are excited about the combination of our portfolio company, PSAV, with Encore. Blackstone sees continued growth opportunities in live events, and we are pleased that Encore will bring additional capabilities to support event planners and our venue partners.ā
Bill Stein of Blackstone’s real estate team added, āThe combination of PSAV and Encore will further enhance our strong capabilities to serve meeting event planners and our venue partners across a diverse suite of services as part of our mission of creating a world class, diversified global live events platform.”
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal counsel to PSAV.
J.P. Morgan is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Freeman and Encore, and Baker McKenzie is serving as legal counsel to Freeman and Encore.