(Rewrites throughout, adds background)

By Rory Gallivan and Razak Musah Baba

LONDON--Specialist publisher and events company Informa PLC (INF.LN) is buying Penton Information Services for 1.18 billion pounds ($1.56 billion), a move that increases its U.S. presence and accelerates consolidation in the fragmented global exhibitions industry.

Informa Thursday said it will pay private equity firms MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co. GBP1.11 billion in cash and GBP76 million in shares for Penton, which organizes events, including Natural Products Expo, and publishes Aviation Week and other titles.

"This combination will further strengthen our capabilities in Global Exhibitions and Business Intelligence and extend our U.S. presence," said Informa Chief Executive Stephen Carter.

Informa's Business Intelligence division publishes specialist titles, including the shipping newspaper Lloyd's List. Informa also publishes academic books under its Taylor & Francis imprint and organizes exhibitions, such as China Beauty Expo.

Events account for more than 50% of Penton's earnings according to its website, with digital publishing contributing around a third and print the rest.

Analysts at Liberum said the Penton purchase is expected to fuel speculation about further consolidation in the exhibitions sector, with likely targets including Informa's London-listed peers UBM PLC (UBM.LN) and Tarsus Group PLC (TRS.LN).

The global exhibitions sector has been consolidating in recent years, with major deals such as UBM's $972 million purchase of U.S. events group Advanstar Communications in 2014, but remains highly fragmented. According to a report by events industry analyst AMR International last year, the top 10 exhibitions' organisers accounted for only 21.2% of global market share in 2014, with RELX PLC's (REL.LN) Reed Exhibitions the biggest operator and other significant companies including UBM, Informa and emerging market-focused ITE Group PLC (ITE.LN).

Informa's shares at 1117 GMT were up 15 pence, or 2.2%, at 709 pence, valuing the company at GBP4.6 billion.

Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com; Twitter: @RoryGallivan

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 15, 2016 07:44 ET (11:44 GMT)

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