B2B giant Informa was forced yesterday to reveal “preliminary discussions” of a deal worth as much as £3bn to buy events rival UBM, creating the world’s biggest company of its kind.

Founded in 1998, Informa hosts global exhibitions, conferences, training events and academic publishing.

It owns several publishing brands, operating in 43 countries worldwide. Notable names include shipping news journal Lloyds List, Academic publisher Routledge, and market intelligence firm Datamonitor.