Tarsus Acquires Anti-aging Event for $60M
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 1/15/2007
Tarsus Group has acquired Medical Conferences Intl., an organizer of health care exhibitions and conferences in the U.S. anti-aging market, for $60 million. MCII each year organizes three installments of World Anti-Aging Congress & Exposition: in Orlando in April, Chicago in July and Las Vegas in December.
The Dec. 7–10, 2006, event in Las Vegas, the first under Tarsus ownership, featured more than 500 exhibitors and 5,000 attendees, organizers said. It was also up 55 percent in revenue and 34 percent in attendance over the 2005 show, according to Douglas Emslie, Tarsus managing director.
These are Tarsus' first acquisitions in this sector, although the company also owns the Medica show in Duesseldorf, Germany, and is eyeing China, India and Japan for further anti-aging events.
Doctors are attracted to the events because of their educational component — the opportunity to learn about new techniques and products and to earn continuing education credits required for state certification.
Emslie described the content as "very serious," covering topics like the prevention and detection of Alzheimer's, diabetes and other aging-related diseases. "The expo is still a little 'quacky' because of the large amount of cosmetic products exhibited, but it will evolve," he said.
He added that another reason for looking at the Chinese market is the country's high rate of diabetes, caused primarily by the growing popularity of Western foods and the accompanying weight gain by many aging Chinese.
Tarsus Group acquired 80 percent of MCII's stock from physician-founders Robert Gold-man and Ronald Klatz. Goldman and Klatz will retain 20 percent of the shows' equity and remain involved with the business on substantially similar terms and conditions as prior to the acquisition, said Emslie.
