Hyve Creates AI SuperVertical After Acquiring RAISE Summit, MACHINA Summit and Signal Week

Welcome to the latest edition of Snöcap.

Hyve Group has bought three events – RAISE Summit, MACHINA Summit and Signal Week – and grouped them into a new AI-focused division. It is the company’s second acquisition this year as part of a growth plan running to 2030. The deal also brings crypto and blockchain expertise into Hyve’s fintech business.

Meanwhile, GL Events has reported a 9% rise in first-half revenue to €966m. The French events firm said growth in live events and venues made up for a fall in exhibitions. More than half of its revenue, 54%, came from outside France. Read the full stories below.

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Hyve Creates AI SuperVertical After Acquiring RAISE Summit, MACHINA Summit and Signal Week

Hyve Group has acquired RAISE Summit, MACHINA Summit and Signal Week, creating a new AI SuperVertical within its events portfolio and adding specialist crypto and blockchain capabilities to its fintech business.

Signal Week was formerly known as Paris Blockchain Week. The deal is Hyve’s second acquisition since launching Ascend30, a value creation plan running through 2030.

RAISE Summit is described as Europe’s leading AI event. MACHINA Summit focuses on physical AI and robotics. Signal Week is described as Europe’s flagship blockchain and crypto event.

Key figures:

• RAISE Summit draws more than 9,000 attendees from over 90 countries
• Nearly a third of RAISE Summit’s buyer attendees come from the C-suite
• Signal Week welcomes more than 10,000 attendees from over 100 countries
• 70% of Signal Week attendees are C-suite executives

RAISE Summit speakers have included Eric Schmidt, Mark Cuban, Pat Gelsinger and Marcelo Claure. Signal Week speakers have included Jeremy Allaire of Circle, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao of Binance, Adam Back of Blockstream and Tim Draper of Draper Associates.

RAISE Summit and Signal Week will join Hyve’s Acquisitions and Best Practice division, led by Lisa Milburn. MACHINA Summit will join the company’s Global Ventures division, led by Katy Fryatt, where it will receive specialist support during its early growth phase.

The three brands add to Hyve’s fintech portfolio, which already includes Fintech Meetup US and Europe.

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve, said: “RAISE Summit, MACHINA Summit and Signal Week are category-defining brands built by exceptional founders who understood where their industries were heading before most others. Michael, Charlie, Henry and Hadrien have created communities with extraordinary reach, influence and momentum, and we’re excited to welcome them to Hyve. AI is entering a new phase of maturity, where innovation is increasingly shaped by collaboration between founders, enterprises, investors and policymakers. That makes this an incredibly exciting space to step into, and we’re looking forward to helping these ecosystems continue to grow and thrive. Meanwhile, we’re also excited to strengthen our fintech portfolio, adding to our existing Fintech Meetup US and Europe events with specialist crypto and blockchain expertise.”

Michael Amar, chairman of RAISE Summit and Signal Week, said: “I’ve always believed you need to be in an industry before you organise it. That’s how we built our events: by understanding what these communities needed and creating the place where the people shaping them could come together. Joining Hyve marks an exciting new chapter. Their world-class team, proven growth strategy and deep expertise in building market-leading event brands make them the ideal partner to help us strengthen our events, serve our communities even better and realise our long-term ambition.”

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

GL Events Reports 9% Jump in H1 Revenue to €966 million

GL Events reported a 9% rise in first-half revenue to €966m, the French events group said Wednesday, as growth in its live events and venues divisions offset a decline in exhibitions.

Revenue climbed 12% at constant exchange rates during the six months ended June 30. International markets made up 54% of total revenue, supported by major events in Asia and Europe.

Chairman and CEO Olivier Ginon said the results reflected the company’s business model. “GL events delivered a strong first half, reflecting its solid fundamentals, the relevance of its strategy and the continued confidence of its clients, partners and employees around the world,” Olivier said. “These results confirm the relevance of our business model and the complementarity of our businesses.”

He said the company would approach the second half “with confidence, fully focused on achieving our objectives and delivering sustainable, well-managed growth.”

Key first-half figures, before the application of IFRS 16 and IAS 29 accounting standards, compared with the same period in 2025:

• Revenue: €966m, up 9% from €889m
• EBITDA: €147m, up 6% from €139m; margin down 0.5 percentage points to 15.2%
• Current operating income: €107m, up 2% from €104m
• Net profit attributable to shareholders: €55m, up 6% from €52m
• Earnings per share: €1.85, up from €1.74
• Net debt: €513m, up from €471m at the end of 2025

The Live division posted revenue of €544m, up 19%, with EBITDA up 42% to €68m. It benefited from work tied to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

The Exhibitions division reported revenue of €124m, down 28%, which the company attributed to the biennial cycle of some trade shows. GL Events said it agreed to acquire MCO Congrès, a Marseille-based medical events agency with 30 employees and annual revenue of €14m, in a deal expected to close by the end of July.

The Venues division reported revenue of €298m, up 15%, including the consolidation of Stade de France, which hosted Six Nations rugby matches, the French Football Cup final and concerts by Bruno Mars and David Guetta.

The company’s financial leverage ratio was 1.9, below a covenant limit of 3.5. GL Events confirmed its 2026 targets, including like-for-like revenue growth of more than 8%, and is scheduled to report third-quarter revenue on Oct. 14.

RX Global Veteran Marie Browne Named New Head of ReedPop

RX has named Marie Browne senior vice president and head of ReedPop, the company announced, elevating a nearly 25-year veteran of the events group to lead its pop culture business.

Marie was part of the founding team behind New York Comic Con and later helped lead the acquisition of Emerald City Comic Con. Most recently, as senior vice president, she expanded the Functional Fabric Fair portfolio and led development of RX’s Conferences business. She will continue to report to Fernando Fischer, president of Americas, RX.

Marie is a past chair of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, and serves on the board of the Society of Independent Show Organisers.

“It’s exciting to step into this role at a time when ReedPop has become a global leader of pop culture around the world,” Marie said. “What has always stood out to me is the passion of the team and the incredible communities they serve.”

ReedPop’s portfolio includes New York Comic Con, Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, PAX West, East and Unplugged, Emerald City Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, MCM Comic Con, MagicCon and BookCon.

Hamburg Messe and Congress Taps Explori as Event Intelligence and Research Partner

Apollo-managed funds have completed the acquisitions of Emerald Holding, Inc. and Questex, LLC, combining the two companies into a single B2B events and media platform, the company announced.

Paul Miller has been named chief executive officer of the combined company, while Hervé Sedky has moved into a senior advisor role. The combined company also named the following executives:

• Vince DiMaggio, chief financial officer
• Issa Jouaneh, chief operating officer
• Kate Spellman, chief commercial officer
• Kurt Nelson, chief talent officer
• Sara Altschul, chief legal officer and company secretary

The two companies will be fully integrated over the coming months.

“This transaction combines two market leaders with iconic brands, deep customer relationships, and differentiated capabilities, to create a scaled platform positioned to accelerate organic growth, invest in innovation, and deliver even greater value for customers, employees and other stakeholders. We look forward to supporting and working closely with the leadership team as they build a leading B2B events and media business,” said Shahid Bosan, managing director at Apollo.

“Today marks an exciting milestone as we embark on a new chapter as one company. By bringing together the best of Emerald and Questex, we are creating a stronger, differentiated platform with the scale, offerings, and talent to better serve our customers and partners. With Apollo’s support and a strong leadership team in place, we are well-positioned to execute against our strategy, expand our portfolio, and capitalize on the significant opportunities ahead,” said Paul.

Emerald’s common stock has ceased trading and is no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Emerald stockholders are receiving $5.03 per share in cash.

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