Los Angeles-based event producer TBA Global Events (www.tbaglobalevents.com) announced last week that it has acquired all the assets and assumed operations of strategic event agency/DMC PGI (www.pgi.com), based in Alexandria, Va. The acquisition of PGI is expected to increase the annual revenue of the company to the range of $175 million, TBA reports, and allows TBA to expand its client base to Canada and Europe. The company will remain headquartered in southern California. Terms were not disclosed.
“We’ve been watching PGI for awhile,” Jeff Kline, TBA executive vice president of business affairs, tells Special Events Magazine. He says factors that drew TBA to PGI include PGI’s “tremendous staff” (“They recently went through some fairly difficult times, and were able to sustain and grow a dynamic business,” Kline says) and its “deep and comprehensive client base.” Forecasting a synergy between TBA’s strong background in entertainment and PGI’s logistical and destination management capabilities, TBA plans to “increase the products and services we are able to offer to our clients,” Kline says.
In December, PGI president and chief operating officer Bob McCormick acknowledged to reporters that PGI had been in talks about being acquired, but said the company planned to remain independent for the foreseeable future. Early that month, the company shuttered eight of its DMC offices, leaving some 15 still in operation, including bases in London, Germany and Canada.
In 2004, TBA Entertainment was acquired by entertainment industry executives Robert Geddes and Irving Azoff, and re-branded itself TBA Global Events. TBA’s client roster includes SAP, Intel, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Herbalife and Hospira. The company has offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Chicago, Omaha, Neb., Nashville, Tenn., and Salt Lake City.
Founded in 1990 as a corporate and association event production company, PGI clients include Sankyo Pharma, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Ford, IBM, Aventis, Nestle Foods and Anheuser-Busch.
"We are pleased to announce this acquisition that further expands TBA Global Events into new markets,” said Geddes, TBA Global Events CEO. “The merger of TBA Global Events with PGI creates a company with multiple product offerings, an expanded team of talented staff and capabilities that can be matched by few. This transaction is consistent with the growth strategy outlined for our company from the very beginning."
