March 31, 2022 | By Joyce DiMascio | Image: Matthew Donegan-Ryan, EventsAir’s new CEO, left, and Trevor Gardiner, the company’s founder
Australian-founded event tech business EventsAIR has received a major boost with the announcement of a substantial sum invested by a global private equity firm and company stakeholders.
The Brisbane-based company believes the sum, underpinned by a contribution from the Riverside Company, is one of the largest ever attached to an Australian event technology firm.
Riverside managing partner Simon Feiglin says the investment will enable further global expansion by EventsAIR.
“Riverside views this investment as a highly compelling opportunity to build upon EventsAIR’s already impressive international footprint by targeting large and growing customer segments globally where the company has a clear competitive advantage,” he said.
“In addition, we will further enhance the management team.”
EventsAIR develops software used before, during and after events to manage registration, attendee engagement, operations, travel, marketing and communications. During the pandemic, it has also developed a digital event platform to deliver virtual and hybrid events.
The company says it has delivered more than 350,000 events across Asia-Europe, The Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and North America.
Its clients include Reed Exhibitions, the British Medical Association, Sanofi-Aventis, Telstra, California State University and the Australian Department of Defence.
Riverside says it will support EventsAIR with its expansion around the globe and will drive the continued evolution of the product. It was also consider growth through “accretive” mergers and acquisitions by targeting complementary event tech players or expansions.
“Having quickly adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, EventsAIR is ideally positioned to bring in a partner who can help accelerate our global growth ambitions,” said EventsAIR founder Trevor Gardiner.
“We are delighted to be working with the Riverside team and look forward to this next exciting chapter in the company’s evolution.”
Matthew Donegan-Ryan will be joining the business as CEO, from April 1. He has worked in the events industry for his entire career, including most recently at Hopin, Swapcard and cvent.