Revenues at Emerald Expositions reached $61 million during the third quarter, when it produces three of its biggest  trade shows for the sporting goods industry, according to an earnings report filed by Onex Corporation, which acquired the business from Nielsen Holdings NV in June, 2013.  Emerald Exposition's cost of sales for the period reached $16 million, Onex reported.


 

Emerald Expositions owns more than 60 trade shows and events, including Outdoor Retailer, Interbike, Health + Fitness Expo and the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show. Outdoor Retailer Summer Market took place in August, while Interbike and Health + Fitness Expo took place in concurrently in September.

 

 

Nielsen reported the business had revenues of $67 million during the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2012, when it operated as Nielsen Expositions. However, the apparent $6 million decline in revenues is due entirely to a non-cash U.S. GAAP accounting adjustment that is triggered when a company is acquired, a spokesperson for Emerald Expositions told Outdoor Business UPDATE. The adjustment essentially requires the acquired company to reduce revenues in the year after an acquisition because it is deemed that the previous owner did some of the work to earn those revenues. The total amount of the adjustment at the time of the acquisition was approximately $10 million, which means Emerald Expositions will be reducing reported revenues by another $4 million between now and the end of the third quarter of 2014.

 

Onex also disclosed that while it paid $950 million in cash for the business, Emerald Expositions has since taken on $612 million in debt. Immediately after the acquisition closed, Emerald Expositions entered into a credit facility consisting of a $430 million term loan and a $90 million revolving facility, each bearing interest rates at LIBOR plus a margin of 4.25 percent. As of Sept. 30, 2013, no amounts were outstanding under the revolving facility.

 


Emerald Expositions also issued $200 million in aggregate principal amount of 9 percent senior notes due in June 2021. Interest is payable semi-annually beginning in December 2013. The senior notes can be redeemed by the company at any time at various premiums above face value. The company ended the quarter with $612 million in debt.

 


While Onex will not disclose financial results for Emerald Expositions with as much detail as Nielsen did, the Emerald Expositions spokesperson said the company had not taken on additional debt as a result of its new ownership.