Emerald, the parent company of Surf Expo and Outdoor Retailer announced Wednesday morning that it has acquired PlumRiver, the company behind Elastic Suite, a digital B2B platform used by some of the biggest names in the action sports and outdoor industries, including Patagonia, Vans, The North Face, Burton, Rip Curl, Boardriders, Volcom, Puma, New Balance and many others.

The total purchase price at closing was $34 million, including $30 million in cash and the rest in stock, according to an SEC filing.

Emerald operates live events across a wide array of industries and sees an opportunity to introduce Elastic to its brand customers while increasing Emerald’s digital capabilities.

Best known for the 140 live events it puts on each year, the pandemic disrupted the staging of many of Emerald’s trade shows during 2020. The company launched new digital products during this time, and customers were especially interested in those that centered around the transaction between buyer and seller, Emerald Chief Operating Officer Brian Field said.

“Through our acquisition of PlumRiver and the Elastic platform, we now have the capability to offer a full spectrum of bundled solutions to our customers – from discovery, lead generation to transaction – across both in person, face-to-face events as well as year-round digital opportunities,” he said.

PlumRiver CEO Josh Reddin said Elastic’s customers should not expect big changes or disruptions as a result of the deal.

“Our entire core PlumRiver, Elastic technology and customer service teams will remain in place and clients will have continuity and consistency using our platforms,” he said. “If there are any new faces moving forward, it will be in addition to existing teams as we are supported by the increased resources and personnel from Emerald.”

“Having the backing of Emerald will also allow us to make faster evolutions to our product, so the only changes we see are positive ones,” Reddin said.

The pandemic has increased demand for Elastic’s digital platform, which has experienced its highest growth year ever, he said. The company sees a lot of opportunity ahead and was looking for a partner to help them reach the next level.

“We have been looking for a partner so we can together respond to opportunities and current trends impacting the business environment,” he said. “A key consideration for partnering with Emerald was also the large volume of customers that are part of the Emerald portfolio which we believe will allow us to rapidly expand our customer base, including in new verticals.”

New Emerald CEO Hervé Sedky, who joined the company this week, said the acquisition offers a natural extension to the live events business while increasing engagement between Emerald and its customers.

The acquisition of Elastic “is expected to strengthen our existing live events by expanding both their relevance and growth profile, while also bringing an additive subscription-based revenue stream to Emerald,” Sedky said.

Editor’s note: Shop Eat Surf is owned by Emerald.

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