Leading B2B events business Hyve Group (“Hyve”) today announces that private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (“H&F”) has agreed to acquire the company from Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. (“Providence”) and Searchlight Capital Partners (“Searchlight”), marking the next phase of Hyve’s growth and evolution.
H&F’s investment reflects Hyve’s strong growth potential, underpinned by ongoing demand for premium B2B events and ecosystems which are central to Hyve’s business model. In partnership with H&F, Hyve will focus on accelerating international launches, expanding adjacent products and services, and continuing to scale into growing end markets via its proven acquisition strategy.
Under the current leadership team, Hyve has built a portfolio of premium, market-leading brands connecting some of the world's leading companies, investors, innovators and decision-makers across healthcare, ecommerce, edtech, supply chain and martech. Hyve has also positioned itself as a partner platform of choice for emerging ecosystem events in high growth markets, with a deepened customer offering spanning content, intelligence, matchmaking and membership.
The acquisition is expected to complete by the end of the calendar year. Hyve has delivered three consecutive years of double-digit organic revenue growth and has expanded EBITDA beyond $100m.
Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve, said:
“Hyve has demonstrated a consistent ability to identify the shifts shaping global business early and acting with conviction to capture the opportunity, from spotting high-growth markets in the early years, to pioneering the modernisation of the sector through tech enabled products and matchmaking and more recently expanding the boundaries of the traditional event model. We believe Hellman & Friedman’s investment marks the beginning of another exciting new phase for Hyve, as we respond to demand from the world’s leading companies for deeper ecosystems around the industries shaping the future global economy.
“We are excited to partner with H&F, an experienced and highly respected investor with deep expertise across media and growth businesses, as we enter the next phase of our growth, with strong momentum behind us, and significant opportunity ahead. I’d also like to thank Providence and Searchlight, who have been exceptional partners in accelerating our transformation, supporting us to scale Hyve into a faster-growing and more diversified business.”
Hunter Philbrick, Partner at H&F, said:
"As AI reshapes global commerce, we believe the ability to foster human connections and bring people together will be more valuable to businesses than ever. Our investment in Hyve is driven by our deep conviction that this will be one of the defining megatrends in the years ahead. We believe Hyve has built an exceptional platform to capture this opportunity – a portfolio of genuinely irreplaceable commercial moments, powered by AI-driven matchmaking that turns a physical gathering into a year-round ecosystem. We are excited to partner with Mark and his team to accelerate this vision."
Andrew Tisdale, Vice Chairman and Robert Sudo, Managing Director at Providence, said:
Over the past three years, we believe Mark and the team at Hyve have achieved a tremendous amount — numerous high-calibre executive hires, 7 strategic acquisitions and 5 key event launches, the roll-out of exciting new tech-enabled services, and significant investments in technology to support the rapid scaling of Hyve’s overall business. It has been really gratifying for us at Providence to work alongside Mark and his team to achieve such operating excellence and growth.”
James Redmayne, Partner and Head of European Private Equity and Thomas De Cannière, Managing Director at Searchlight, said:
"It has been a privilege to partner with Mark and the Hyve team through such a defining chapter in the company's history. Together, we have transformed Hyve into a more global, diversified and digitally sophisticated business, with a real focus on operational excellence and long-term strategic value creation. We are enormously proud of what we have built together and all of us at Searchlight look forward to watching Hyve go from strength to strength in the future."
The investment comes at a point of strong momentum for Hyve, with the business on track to deliver its three-year growth and optimisation strategy, “GO27”, a year ahead of schedule.
RAN Advisory acted as financial advisor to Hellman & Friedman. Hyve, Providence and Searchlight were advised by LionTree and J.P. Morgan Securities plc.
About Hyve
Hyve is a category-defining global B2B events business, with a portfolio of globally renowned brands including HLTH, Shoptalk, Bett, POSSIBLE, Manifest and ASU+GSV Summit. In addition to premium events, Hyve deepens customer ROI through ancillary products and services including highly curated double-opt-in meeting programmes, peer-to-peer networking opportunities and brokerage services, as well as year-round value through content, intelligence, matchmaking and membership. Find out more at www.hyve.group.
About Hellman & Friedman
Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on a limited number of large-scale equity investments in high-quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation, and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors, including technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer services & retail, and information, content & business services. H&F was founded in 1984 and has over $115 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025. Learn more about H&F’s defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes at www.hf.com.
About Providence
Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a leading middle-market private equity firm with deep sector expertise in media, communications and education focused on North America and Europe. Providence looks to invest in businesses that are benefiting from the long-term growth trends around experiences, learning, and connectivity by partnering with exceptional management teams to build enduring, scaled companies. Founded in 1989 in Providence, Rhode Island, the firm has invested over $40 billion across more than 180 portfolio companies with a transatlantic investment team based primarily in London, New York and Boston. Through disciplined portfolio construction, prudent risk management and a collaborative culture, the firm seeks to deliver strong results across market cycles. To learn more, please visit www.provequity.com.
About Searchlight
Searchlight Capital Partners is a global private investment firm with approximately $17 billion in assets under management and offices in London, New York, Miami and Toronto. Founded on the principle that creative, engaged ownership creates superior outcomes, Searchlight partners with management teams to build market-leading businesses across its core sectors of telecommunications, media, business, industrial and financial services. Searchlight seeks to invest in businesses where its flexible approach and strategic support accelerate value creation for all stakeholders, leveraging deep sector expertise and a global network to help portfolio companies realise their full potential. For more information, please visit www.searchlightcap.com.
