BMI, founded in 1987, runs in-person recruitment fairs and workshops, virtual events, and a digital advisory platform, Viva Mundo, which is a leading study abroad platform in Latin America. More than 2,400 institutions from over 40 countries have participated in BMI events.

With THE’s student-facing division, THE Student, the deal will expand the range of options universities have to engage with prospective learners both in-person and online, with the two organisations collectively reaching more than 20 million prospective international students every year.

THE Student works with a range of trusted partners from across the industry to provide comprehensive advice and guidance to globally mobile university applicants, and last year ran a successful series of “THE Student Fairs” in partnership with BMI, engaging with students from across Asia and Africa.

Joining forces felt like a natural partnership given the popularity of THE’s university rankings and the need for prospective students to meet institutions at world-class virtual and physical events across the world. By coming together, millions of students using their platform will now be able to meet universities at BMI’s leading international education fairs

Samir Zaveri, BMI’s chief executive and president

Paul Howarth, THE’s chief executive, said: “Bringing together the world’s leading student recruitment events business with one of the world’s largest and most renowned study abroad platforms is an incredibly exciting development at Times Higher Education.”

“Together we can transform the events landscape for students looking to study abroad – both in person and online – connecting them with institutions that best serve their requirements and helping them into international study across a wide range of destination countries.”

Dave Sherrington, Head of Regional Sales and Private Equity, ThinCats; “We have worked with Paul and the team at Times Higher Education for a few years now and the business is going from strength to strength. We were delighted to work with them and the expert team at Inflexion to finalise this transformative deal.”

The acquisition of BMI follows THE’s acquisition of the US-based business Inside Higher Ed, which delivers combined audiences of more than 50 million users annually, comprising university leaders, researchers, professional staff and students, as well as policymakers and others.