Truelink Capital, a middle-market private equity firm based in Westwood, will purchase a Las Vegas experiential marketing and exhibitions services business, GES, from its parent company Viad Corp. for $535 million in a deal expected to close by the end of the year.

The GES business encompasses a number of segments: GES Exhibitions, a global exhibitions and logistics services provider; Spiro, a marketing solutions agency; and onPeak, SHOWTECH and Visit, which focus on event accommodation as well as power and lighting.

With this acquisition, these segments will remain independent and under the umbrella of GES.

This will be Truelink’s sixth investment since the firm’s founding in 2022, said Luke Myers, managing partner and co-founder of Truelink.

Myers said that Truelink seeks out under-optimized businesses with the goal of improving their operations.

“We want to make sure that we’re acquiring businesses that have room to grow and room to really improve and increase their market share … and businesses that have a consolidation opportunity, where there’s a lot of M&A that we can execute upon,” Myers said.

When it comes to strengthening GES, Myers said it will be a “multi-prong approach to create value” through both organic and inorganic initiatives. In terms of organic growth, Truelink wants to drive growth across the various geographies GES operates in, improve its margin of business and utilize technology.

This transaction will solidify GES as a private, standalone company after being owned by Viad, a publicly traded company based in Scottsdale.

GES President Derek Linde said he is “excited to start a new chapter as a private company.”

“This is an exciting time for GES. The business has tremendous momentum, and our team is driving strong revenue growth, margin expansion, and client service,” Linde said in a statement.