Easyfairs, one of Europe’s largest privately owned events companies, has made its first North American acquisition: the Energy Projects Conference & Expo (EPC), a fast-growing Houston-based event billed as the world’s largest gathering for professionals working on major energy projects.
The acquisition marks a significant step for the Brussels-based organizer — ranked 13th in STAX’s ranking — that has long eyed the U.S. market but had until previously focused on expanding in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Easyfairs reported $246 million in revenue for the 2023–2024 fiscal year and launched 15 new shows globally.
A Boost From Private Investment
Doug Emslie, the former CEO of Tarsus Group, invested in Easyfairs via his firm Cuil Bay Capital in April. In addition, Emslie became a member of the Easyfairs Board.
“Adding EPC to our portfolio supports our goal of growing Easyfairs in the U.S. market by acquiring leading events with strong growth potential,” said Easyfairs CEO Matt Benyon. “The energy sector is on a steep growth trajectory, fueled by technological advances and rising power demands from data centers and artificial intelligence.”
EPC combines five conferences and an exhibition under one roof uniting engineering, construction, supply chain, and operations for the energy sector. The event is expanding quickly: Its most recent edition attracted 4,500 attendees and more than 200 exhibitors, and Easyfairs plans to double those numbers in 2026.
Not the First U.S. Move — But the First U.S. Acquisition
Though this is Easyfairs’ first American purchase, the company already launched a U.S. edition of its Coiltech show, focused on the coil winding supply chain, in Michigan earlier this year. Arnaud Istas, Easyfairs’s group head of mergers and acquisitions, referred to that launch as the “biggest launch in our company’s history.”
The geocloned show followed the same model as existing Coiltech events in Italy and Germany. “This brings us to two U.S. events on the map, with ambitions to add more,” added Istas.
EPC was launched by Josh Bull in June 2022 rapidly growing from a 400-person conference to a full-blown exhibition attracting more than 8,000 attendees in just over three years.
Bull founded the natural gas sector of conference company FC Business Intelligence that was acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2019. He remained head of sector overseeing energy conferences including the flagship Downstream USA, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“Easyfairs’ investment will support EPC’s rapid growth, and we look forward to benefiting from their tradeshow expertise and proven systems. Our community is assured of an even better, high-quality experience,” said Bull.
The existing EPC team will remain in place. The Houston-based event will be held June 16-17, 2026 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Easyfairs organizes 110 events across 16 countries, with a team of 900 staff across 20 offices. The company also manages eight European venues, four of which are owned by the company.
