Questex
AcquiredFounded 2005 · 477 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
Questex is an information services company that produces industry events, publishes market insights, and provides data products. It serves business audiences and customers seeking professional connections and information.
Also known as Questex LLC · Questex Media Group
Investors · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Questex is a business-to-business information services and events company organized around three market groups: Life Sciences, Health & Wellness; Living (residential and operational real estate and destination sectors); and Entertainment & Infrastructure (media, live production and connectivity). The company combines live events, digital media brands, data-driven programs and curated buyer-seller meetings intended to help professionals discover industry developments, access expert content and connect with suppliers.
Its portfolio includes approximately 45 events spanning tradeshows, conferences and hosted-buyer formats, among them Fierce Pharma Week, the International Hospitality Investment Forum, Be+Well (Beauty and Wellness Shows) and Live Design International, alongside media properties such as the Fierce brands (Fierce Biotech, Fierce Healthcare, Fierce Pharma, Fierce Network), Affordable Housing Finance, Multifamily Executive, American Salon, Hotel Management and Bar & Restaurant News. Questex also operates marketing services, including its Q Studio content and experience advisory arm and a marketing solutions catalogue covering advertising, content marketing, content syndication and CPL, webinars and digital events, targeted email, native content and audience amplification.
Earlier descriptions of the company cite a broader portfolio of more than 100 conferences and trade shows across travel and hotel, beauty and spa, nightclub and bar, life sciences, healthcare and telecommunications, including the International Beauty Show in New York, the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin and the Nightclub and Bar Show in Las Vegas, plus the FierceMarkets digital lead-generation platform serving an audience of over 1.4 million newsletter subscribers.
Business model
Questex monetizes B2B communities through tradeshows, conferences and hosted-buyer events, data and digital/print media, and marketing services sold to exhibitors, sponsors and advertisers seeking access to defined professional audiences.
Revenue is derived from event participation (tradeshows, conferences and hosted buyer programs), advertising and sponsorship across digital and print media, and marketing services such as content marketing, content syndication and cost-per-lead programs, webinars, targeted email and custom content produced through Q Studio.
Traction
Questex operates approximately 45 events including tradeshows, conferences and hosted buyer events; its FierceMarkets digital platform has been described as serving an audience of over 1.4 million subscribers. In 2026 its brands were shortlisted for 11 Jesse H. Neal Awards and seven ASBPE Northeast regional Azbee awards.
Latest developments
In August 2026, Emerald and Questex announced they were uniting under the Forge brand, and subsequent company announcements referred to Questex properties such as LDI/Live Design, Hotel Management and Broadband Nation Expo as Forge brands. Earlier in 2026, Questex announced Neal and ASBPE award shortlistings and continued programming across LDI, Vibe Conference and Be+Well.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Described by its private-equity owner MidOcean Partners as a leading B2B information services company across its three sectors, with roughly 45 events and complementary media and marketing services offerings; the company has grown through repeated add-on acquisitions.
Questex pairs editorially recognized content brands with live and digital events and audience data, positioning content and buyer-intent data as the connective layer between its media properties and its event calendar; its titles were shortlisted for 11 Jesse H. Neal Awards and seven ASBPE Azbee regional awards in 2026.
Go-to-market
The company reaches audiences through year-round digital communities, editorial brands and newsletters, and converts that reach into face-to-face commerce at its events, where curated meetings and data-driven programs match sellers with buyers demonstrating purchase intent.
Professionals and companies in life sciences, healthcare and wellbeing; residential and operational real estate, hospitality, travel and destination sectors; beauty and spa; bar and restaurant; and media, live production, broadband and connectivity markets, plus the vendors and sponsors seeking to reach those buyers.
Geography
Headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts, with press releases issued from New York; employees have been located at offices across the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and the business targets global markets with a primary focus on North America and Europe.
History
Questex has passed through successive private-equity ownerships: Shamrock Capital invested in 2014 (now listed as a previous holding), and MidOcean Partners invested in September 2018 and lists the company as a current portfolio holding. Under MidOcean, Questex executed a series of add-on acquisitions: Live Experience Assets (2019), The Spa Industry Association and Digital Signage Expo (2021), management control of the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference (2023), and The Conference Forum, Versalinx Global Events and Affordable Housing Finance/Multifamily Executive (2025). In August 2026, Emerald and Questex announced they were uniting as Forge.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 11
launches, deals, and filingsQuestex announced that Emerald and Questex are united as Forge; later company announcements reference Forge-branded Questex properties.
Brands recognized include Affordable Housing Finance, American Salon, Fierce Biotech, Fierce Healthcare, Fierce Network, Fierce Pharma, Multifamily Executive and Bar & Restaurant News.
MidOcean portfolio news notes Questex assuming management control of the conference (listed as IHIIC, 2023).
MidOcean Partners lists a September 2018 investment date for Questex, with the holding marked as current and actively seeking add-on acquisitions.
Shamrock Capital lists Questex with a 2014 investment date and 'Previous' status.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Questexquestex.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Questex do?
- B2B information services and events company serving life sciences and health, living/real estate, and entertainment and infrastructure markets.
- Who are Questex's investors?
- Questex's investors include MidOcean, Shamrock Capital.