Informa

Key takeaways

Informa belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Informa to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Informa from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Informa plc is a British publishing, business intelligence, and exhibitions group with headquarters in London, England. Informa is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. With offices in 42 countries, the company has around 14,000 employees. Informa owns numerous brands, including Fan Expo, VidCon, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, CRC Press, Routledge, and Taylor & Francis.

History

1998 to 2013 Informa itself was created in 1998 by the merger of IBC Group plc (formerly International Business Communications) and LLP Group plc (publisher of Lloyd's List). In 2004, Informa merged with academic publisher Taylor & Francis, followed in 2005 with the acquisition of IIR Holdings. In October 2006, the company was approached by Springer Science and Business Media in a takeover bid, but in early November the Informa board rejected the offer. In early 2007, chairman Richard Hooper announced his retirement in May and, after consulting with major shareholders, the company moved chief executive Peter Rigby to chairman, and managing director David Gilbertson to Rigby's former post. On 8 June 2008, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that United Business Media (UBM) had proposed a merger with Informa. The talks were confirmed by Informa in a press release that same day, but described as "preliminary". On 17 June talks with UBM ended. In May 2009 the company announced that it would restructure its business to be incorporated in Jersey but tax resident in Switzerland. In 2014, Informa was redomiciled in the UK. In July 2013, the company announced that Peter Rigby would retire at the end of 2013 to be replaced as CEO by Stephen Carter, who was first appointed a non-executive director in 2010. Informa has since acquired other conventions and placed them under the auspices of their Fan Expo HQ brand, including Dallas Comic Con and MegaCon. In December 2013, Informa acquired the assets of Elsevier Business Intelligence (EBI) from Reed Elsevier.

2014 to present In January 2014, Carter became CEO of Informa plc. In 2016 Informa entered the FTSE 100. In September 2016, Informa acquired Penton followed by Yachting Promotions Inc. in March 2017. In September 2017, Informa announced that it would be acquiring Dove Medical Press. In January 2018, Informa announced its intent to acquire UBM plc as part of its strategy to expand in North America and Asia. The transaction was completed in June 2018. In 2019, Informa sold the former UBM Life Sciences to MJH Associates. Later in 2019, Informa traded its Agriculture Intelligence unit to IHS Markit in exchange for most of IHS Markit's Technology, Media and Telecoms division. Also in 2019, Informa sold the former Penton design & engineering, manufacturing, energy, buildings, and commercial vehicle divisions, and the former UBM Automotive, to Endeavor Business Media. In January 2020 Informa acquired F1000 Research Limited. In February 2020, Informa launched Omdia by consolidating its portfolio of market analyst companies, Ovum Ltd, Heavy Reading, Tractica, and the majority of IHS Markit's technology, media and telecommunications research business, into a unified brand. Informa's in-person events were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with many in-person events being cancelled or postponed. Informa's response included a move to virtual events and a focus on its subscription-based and digital products. In June 2021, John Rishton was appointed as chairman, replacing Derek Mapp. In December 2021 Informa announced a programme to divest its intelligence businesses. In February 2022, Informa sold its Informa Pharma Intelligence unit to investment fund, Warburg Pincus for $2.6 billion. Following the sale of their intelligence unit, Informa launched a share buyback programme. In November 2022, Informa launched a joint venture, Tahaluf, partnered with the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP). In January 2024, Informa announced that it would merge the digital business of Informa Tech with TechTarget. The business became Informa TechTarget in December 2024. In July 2024, the company reached a deal to acquire media and events company Ascential for approximately £1.2 billion. The transaction was completed in October 2024.

Operations Informa is organized into five operating divisions: Informa Connect, Informa Festivals, Informa Markets, Informa TechTarget, and Taylor & Francis. The company also has a Global Support division. In June 2021, John Rishton was appointed as chairman, replacing Derek Mapp.

Brands Informa owns numerous brands including:

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Informa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Informa claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Informa before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Informa ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Informa

In research: Informa appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Informa in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Informa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1998 establishments in England, Academic publishing companies, Companies in the FTSE 100 Index, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Informa outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Informa in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Informa means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Informa out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Informa in simple terms?

Informa plc is a British publishing, business intelligence, and exhibitions group with headquarters in London, England. Informa is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Why does Informa matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Informa?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Informa.