LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Blackstone Group is exploring options for Clarion Events, including a sale, that could value the business at up to 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as appetite for event organisers continues to recover after the pandemic.

The U.S. buyout group has in recent months held informal talks with private equity funds including CVC and KKR, which may be interested in buying the London-based business, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Preparations are in the early stages and Blackstone may only kick off an auction process early next year, the people said, cautioning that a final decision has yet to be taken, nor has a financial adviser been appointed.

Officials from Blackstone, Clarion and KKR declined to comment. CVC did not immediately return requests for comment.

Blackstone acquired Clarion Events in 2017 in a 600 million pound deal. It supported the business through the COVID-19 pandemic, when the events industry came to a sudden halt, heavily impacting the company's revenue and earnings.

Clarion, which organizes the London International Horse Show among other events, saw revenue jump to 432.9 million pounds in the 12 months through January from 257 million a year earlier, as the industry returned to normal in China and Hong Kong, according to its most recent available results.

PICKING UP

Dealmaking in the events sector is picking up as businesses return to in-person conferences and exhibitions. Expectations that interest rates will come down in the U.S. next year are encouraging private equity firms to invest, as debt becomes cheaper, the first person said.

Informa ( IFPJF ), the UK events and academic publishing group, in July agreed to buy Ascential ( AIAPF ), which produces advertising festival Cannes Lions, for 1.2 billion pounds. Additionally, Inflexion and Copeba agreed to invest in Belgian events group Easyfairs earlier this year.

Clarion is projected to achieve core earnings or EBITDA of around 145 million pounds for the current year, and it could fetch 14-15 times that figure, or more than 2 billion pounds, in a sale, the first person said.

Clarion has expanded outside Europe under Blackstone's ownership, partly through acquisitions. It merged with Asian exhibition organizer Global Source in 2018 and earlier this year bought Global Gaming Business, based in the U.S.

Asia and the U.S. are Clarion's largest markets, responsible for 36% and 35% of revenue respectively, followed by Europe, including the UK, its results show.

Led by CEO and events veteran Lisa Hannant, Clarion hosts events across a variety of sectors including electronics, gaming, energy, security and defence, public safety and technology. It was founded in 1947 and has more than 1,900 employees in 13 countries, according to its results.

($1 = 0.7816 pounds)