Cannes Lions owner Ascential confirms IPO

As revealed by Campaign last week, the company had prepared for the flotation by setting up a publicly listed company called Trident Floatco on 4 January. A day later Trident Floatco was renamed to Ascential plc.

At present the company is privately owned by Apax Partners, the private equity group, and Guardian Media Group, the publisher of The Guardian.

Today the company announced that the flotation, or initial public offering, will be expected to take place next month as shares are admitted to the London Stock Exchange.

Duncan Painter, the chief executive of Ascential, said:"As a team we have created an industry leading company for informing and connecting business professionals across our exhibitions, festivals and information services products.

"These essential products enable our customers to win business and operate more efficiently. By continuously focusing on supporting our customers’ growth and success, we have reinforced the market leadership positions held by the majority of our products."

Ahead of the IPO, Ascential has appointed Scott Forbes to act as an independent chairman of the board of directors.

Forbes said: "The business has gone from strength-to-strength in recent years, transformed by an experienced management team with a proven track record of delivering consistent growth, high margins and business improvement."

Lions Festivals, the Ascential subsidiary responsible for Cannes Lions, has benefited from the ad industry’s strong growth in recent years and its latest accounts show that annual revenues rose 14 percent to €55.2 million.

Haymarket, the publisher of Campaign, and Lions Festivals are partners in the Spikes Asia festival.