March 2008

Hazlewoods LLP advise on the sale of The Energy Exchange Limited

Hazlewoods Corporate Finance has recently advised on the sale of The Energy Exchange Limited to Clarion Events, a leading producer of specialised conferences for senior executives in the global oil and gas sector.

The acquisition extends Clarion’s strategy of building a global B2B conference business in specialised vertical markets, complementing the recent acquisition of Synergy BV (serving the utilities market).

Piers Bearne, Chief Executive of Clarion Conferences, said: “The Energy Exchange Limited, together with its sister brand, the World Refining Association, have established world leading events covering the upstream and downstream markets with conferences examining exploration and production, licensing and investment, transportation and refining, petrochemicals and gas, making it the broadest-based specialist organiser and conference producer in the oil and gas market. We are delighted that the company now has a strong position in Biofuels and is expanding into Global Alternative Energy, too. Above all, the multilingual team is a great asset as we support The Energy Exchange’s growth in Europe, Russia and the CIS, the Middle East and Asia.”

Vincent Sevilla, Founder and CEO of The Energy Exchange, said “This is the beginning of an exciting new era for The Energy Exchange Limited and the WRA. We are delighted to have the support and backing of the team at Clarion to take both our brands into new and developing markets within the global energy sector.”

Norman Webber of Hazlewoods Corporate Finance, said “We have had the pleasure of acting for Vincent Sevilla and The Energy Exchange since its early days advising on financial issues. The business is now a major player in its market and we are pleased to have assisted with the disposal to Clarion as the business moves to another phase.”

For further information on this press release, please contact:

Norman Webber
LLP Corporate Finance Partner
nlw@hazlewoods.co.uk