Saudi Arabia’s Events Investment Fund (EIF) announced the acquisition of a stake in Tahaluf, a renowned Saudi Arabian company that organizes large-scale live events.

Tahaluf is a joint venture between Informa, a global entity in Academic Markets, B2B Markets, and Digital Services Group, and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones (SAFCSP). The acquisition involves SELA, an event production company owned by the Public Investment Fund, further strengthening the partnership.

Led by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, EIF is a government-backed fund to develop sustainable infrastructure in sectors such as culture, tourism, entertainment, and sports in the kingdom. With a substantial investment of $3.7 billion, EIF plans to build 35 venues, placing Tahaluf as an anchor tenant for its flagship exhibition center.

Mike Champion, CEO at Tahaluf, says, “Tahaluf has a clear and simple mission. To bring world-class events to Saudi Arabia, and to help contribute to the kingdom becoming a global events hub.”

He adds, “Saudi Arabia is the growth engine for the international events trade. There is simply no market as fast-growing. It’s a game-changer—I haven’t seen any other market that can consistently accelerate an event’s size and importance by 20 years or more as the Saudis can. They have the perfect mix of vision, ambition, resources, and motivation.”

Tahaluf will utilize Informa’s global expertise to introduce innovative B2B live events, digital experiences, and services to sectors such as technology, real estate, and pharmacy. It will leverage Informa’s global expertise to introduce B2B live events, digital experiences, and services tailored to sectors like technology, real estate, pharmaceuticals, food, health and beauty, tourism, and hospitality. This strategic partnership aligns with the kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative, which seeks to diversify the economy and generate substantial employment opportunities for Saudi citizens.

Tahaluf has organized prominent tech events like LEAP and Black Hat Middle East, further expanding its portfolio by introducing Informa brands to Saudi Arabia. These brands, namely Cityscape, CPHI, and Cosmoprof, cater to the global real estate, pharmaceutical, and beauty industries.

In February, Tahaluf organized the artificial intelligence event, DeepFest. Champion adds, “In three years, Tahaluf, along with its Government Partners, has achieved a notable feat by creating the most attended tech event in the world, LEAP, and the most attended cybersecurity event in the world, Black Hat MEA.”

Over the past two years, Tahaluf’s founding partners, SAFCSP and Informa, have collaborated with the Ministry of Communications and IT to elevate LEAP into a packed tech event, garnering an impressive participation of 172,000 individuals.

Faisal Al-Khamisi, Chairman at SAFCSP, says, “Tahaluf employs the finest events talent in the region, enabling them to organize record-breaking, award-winning events such as Black Hat MEA and LEAP. With EIF, SAFCSP and Informa as shareholders, the company is strategically positioned to deliver events that help transform and develop the kingdom’s MICE sector.” Saudi Arabian sporting event, hospitality and real estate company, Sela, has also committed to becoming a shareholder.

The formal announcement of the stake acquisition in Tahaluf, meaning ‘Alliance’ in Arabic, happened at Informa’s headquarters in London on July 26. The signing ceremony was attended by esteemed dignitaries, including HRH Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Kingdom; His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia; Lord Stephen Carter CBE, the Group CEO of Informa PLC; and representatives from EIF, SAFCSP, SELA, and Tahaluf.

Stephen Carter, Group CEO of Informa, says, “Tahaluf is a dynamic and ambitious initiative, and we are proud that Informa’s expertise is part of delivering world-class, sustainable events and digital experiences in Saudi Arabia. The incredible success of events such as LEAP demonstrated the power of the Tahaluf collaboration, and this increased investment will accelerate its impact across sectors.”

To learn more about Tahaluf and get in contact, visit the website here.