Posted in: Comics, Conventions, Current News, NYCC, Star Wars: Celebration | Tagged: bryan cooney, comic books, Comics, cons, conventions, geek, geeks, HRL, lance fensterman, london comic con, mcm, new york comic con, NYCC, pop culture, Reed Exhibitions, ReedPOP

CONFIRMED: ReedPOP Acquires UK-based MCM Comic Con

Update: Original Forbes report from Rob Salkowitz is attributed/linked.

Confirming what Bleeding Cool had been reporting on as far back as May 2017 and as recently as this past weekend (here and here), pop culture event organizer ReedPOP (a division of Reed Exhibitions) announced that it is acquiring MCM. MCM is the organization responsible for the largest pop culture events in the UK, including London Comic Con.

Though no formal terms of the agreement have been released, according to Salkowitz's reporting for Forbes the hit to Reed Exhibitions could be upwards of £17.5 million ($23M). ReedPOP stated the deal will "take effect immediately and its impact will begin to be seen and felt on all 2018 events."

For Lance Fensterman, Global Head of ReedPOP, bringing MCM into the ReedPOP fold fits with Reed Exhibitions' overall international goal for the division, and will benefit convention attendees on both sides of the Atlantic:

"For nearly a decade I've watched with great admiration as the MCM brand grew in size, scale and quality, as well as in the hearts and minds of UK fans. I could not be more proud and humbled to team up with the MCM team to bring two world-class pop culture event companies together. The addition of the MCM brand extends the reach and influence of the ReedPOP portfolio and further solidifies our place as the number one producer of fan events across the globe. We cannot wait to work with the MCM team to build even bigger and better events for fans in the UK."

ReedPOP has been working to extend its convention influence beyond North America, where they currently run conventions such as New York Comic Con, C2E2, Star Wars Celebration, Book Con and PAX gaming exhibitions. ReedPOP has hosted fan shows in China, France, Australia, Germany, India, Singapore, Korea and other territories around the world. With MCM on board, the event organizer will now be running events in the U.K. that serve nearly 300,000 fans in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool and Belfast.

MCM Comic Con co-founder Bryan Cooney echoes Fensterman's thoughts on how MCM can benefit from ReedPOP's size and expertise, while MCM is ReedPOP's key to the U.K.:

"Everyone at MCM is delighted to be joining the ReedPOP family.  I have visited NYCC many times and thought how cool would it be to work with Lance and ReedPOP.  Today, all my wishes are granted.  I look forward to launching MCM into a higher orbit of popular culture's greatest shows alongside ReedPOP."

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