December 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ –GES, a global leader in the exhibition and event industry, announced the completion of its sale by Viad Corp to Truelink Capital, a Los Angeles based private equity firm. This transformational transaction positions GES to accelerate growth as a privately-owned, stand-alone company within Truelink’s portfolio.
“We are thrilled to open a new chapter of our business in 2025 alongside Truelink,” shared Derek Linde, GES Chief Executive Officer. “Our talented team delivered extraordinary event experiences for our clients across the globe during 2024, as we continued to see strong momentum in our business. We are energized by this opportunity to partner with the Truelink team to accelerate innovation and expand our industry-leading capability to deliver premier experiential events to clients worldwide.”
With over 2,600 talented team members and strong, lasting relationships with business partners across the globe, GES and its companies have a decades-long history supporting the world’s leading brands and events in robust business verticals including healthcare, aerospace & defense, financial services, manufacturing, technology, and retail, in a variety of exhibitions, event and experiential marketing capacities.
“Truelink is excited to collaborate with Derek and his leadership team to enhance GES’ position as an industry leader and strengthen the company’s heritage of success,” said Luke Myers, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Truelink. “We are excited to drive strategic investments to bolster GES and Spiro’s strengths in creative design, logistics and event production, accelerate its tech-enabled offerings, and expand GES’ international reach on Day 1. We thank Viad for its exceptional stewardship and support during the transition period, and look forward to collaborating with the GES leadership team to help the business reach its maximum potential”
About GES:
GES is a leading global provider of exhibition and experiential marketing services to event organizers and brand marketers. We empower clients to engage their audiences and elevate the customer experience by delivering comprehensive exhibition, experiential, strategic, creative, event management and accommodation, meeting planning and logistical solutions, as well as registration and engagement solutions. GES includes a dynamic collective of industry-leading companies and their distinctive specialties — GES Exhibitions, Spiro, onPeak, SHOWTECH and Visit. Whether partnering together or working independently, our companies strategically partner with brands and event organizers to transform business objectives into extraordinary experiences that drive meaningful customer connections and bottom-line impact.
www.showtech.ca
www.visitcloud.com
About Truelink Capital
Truelink Capital is a middle-market private equity firm based in Los Angeles. Truelink pairs deep industry experience in the industrials and technology-enabled services sectors with a commitment to building partnerships that drive long-term value through an operationally focused strategy. Truelink partners with management, corporate sellers, and founders to accelerate growth through the execution of strategic initiatives and transformative add-on acquisitions.
Contacts:
Marianne Szczech
mszczech@ges.com