Emerald Holdings – owner of the International Fastener Expo – has sold its trade shows to private equity firm Apollo Funds.

The all-cash acquisition of Emerald’s 160 B2B events will be merged with another 2026 acquisition by Apollo – Questex, which holds 125 events. Emerald Holdings has home/design, outdoor and general merchandise trade shows. Questex holds events in the hospitality, beauty/wellness, sensors/technology, and experiential design industries.

Emerald acquired IFE in 2015 from founders James Bannister and Mike McGuire. The fastener trade show was started in 1981 in Columbus, OH. A second show was introduced in 1997 in Las Vegas. The last Columbus show was held in 2011.

The next IFE show is scheduled for October 8-9, 2026, in Phoenix.

Apollo acquired Yahoo in 2021, which includes Yahoo Finance and TechCrunch. Apollo also owns consumer media, including a majority stake in Cox Media Group, a company that owns TV and radios stations and newspapers. Apollo acquired the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for $2.5 billion in 2022.

Emerald was the largest B2B trade show and event organizer in the U.S. The company will be delisted from the NYSE upon closing of the sale later this year. Shareholders will receive about $5.03 per share.