Informa to buy US trade show operator Hanley Wood for 237 mln stg

(Reuters) - British business media group Informa Plc said on Tuesday it would buy U.S. trade show operator Hanley Wood Exhibitions for 237 million pounds ($371 million), and planned to raise 275 million pounds through a share placement. Informa said it planned to place about 60.4 million new shares, representing about 10 percent of its issued capital. Liberum analyst Ian Whittaker the size of the placement was unexpected. "Whenever you get anything that creates a bookbuild like this, it always creates uncertainty," he said. The company's shares fell as much as 7 percent to 469.2 pence, making them the biggest percentage loser on the FTSE-250 midcap index. Whittaker kept his "sell" rating on the stock, with a price target of 450 pence. Informa said it expected Hanley Wood to add to its earnings in the first year of ownership. The deal will add 17 construction and real estate trade shows to its business, the company said. Rival UBM Plc said in October it would buy trade show organizer Advanstar Communications for $972 million to become the top events organizer by revenue in the United States. (Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bangalore; Editing by Sunil Nair and Ted Kerr)