Mari Acquires Collect-A-Con® The Largest Trading Card, Anime, And Pop Culture Event In The United States

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Apr. 30, 2026 – MARI, the global events and experiences company, has acquired Collect-A-Con, a rapidly growing multi-city event serving fan communities across trading cards, anime, gaming, and pop culture.

Founded in 2021, Collect-A-Con has scaled rapidly, growing from three shows in its first year to 24 planned for 2026, making it the largest touring event of its kind in the United States, with shows taking place in major cities, including Dallas, Orlando, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago.

The shows draw an average of 25,000 attendees, with more than 500,000 participants annually. Each event brings together trading cards, anime, and pop culture in a single marketplace, combining celebrity guests, anime voice actors, live performances, and extensive merchandise. With over 1,000 vendors, alongside guest appearances, concerts featuring major performing artists, and exclusive drops, each show creates a high-energy experience over a single weekend, bringing fans, creators, and vendors together in one place.

The result is sustained activity across each event, with buying, selling, and trading driving repeat participation from both attendees and vendors. MARI will focus on enhancing the overall experience while preserving the community-driven model and culture that have defined Collect-A-Con’s growth. The acquisition also brings a younger, highly active audience into the MARI portfolio, with visitors predominantly ages 18 to 34 – a demographic shaping the future of live entertainment.

“Collect-A-Con has built something that is genuinely hard to replicate – a highly engaged community and a format that keeps people coming back,” said Ben Enowitz, Chief Financial Officer at MARI. “We see a significant opportunity to build on that foundation, supporting the collectibles market and bringing the format to more cities and audiences around the world.”

Collect-A-Con will continue to operate under its existing brand and leadership team, with MARI and its worldwide infrastructure supporting continued growth and operational development.

“Vendors love the opportunity to build direct relationships with customers, while fans are drawn to the sense of community and the in-person ‘treasure hunt’ experience,” said Matthew Weatherly, Co-Founder of Collect-A-Con. “Attendees often spend hours at each event – it’s a good indication of how engaged the audience is. As we grow, people can expect the same experience – from the marketplace and community atmosphere to live moments across the weekend, including trading cards like Pokémon alongside performances from major music artists such as Steve Aoki, Soulja Boy and Waka Flocka Flame.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

EDITORS’ NOTES

About Collect-A-Con

Collect-A-Con is the largest touring trading card, anime, and pop culture event in the United States. Founded in 2021, the business has grown rapidly into a multi-city series of shows bringing together collectors, vendors, creators, and fans in a large-scale marketplace environment. Each event combines buying, selling, and trading with celebrity guests, live performances, and fan programming, creating a high-energy, community-driven experience. With shows held in major cities across the U.S., Collect-ACon attracts over 500,000 attendees annually and continues to expand its reach to new audiences.

About MARI

MARI is a global events and experiences company with a portfolio of world-class live properties spanning sport, art, lifestyle, and entertainment. These include major international tennis tournaments, among them the Mutua Madrid Open and Miami Open presented by Itaú, Frieze, a leading voice in contemporary art, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, TodayTix Group, a leading digital ticketing and technology company for theatre and live performance, and Barrett-Jackson, the foremost U.S. collector car auction company. MARI delivers live experiences that bring people together, inspire audiences, and shape culture worldwide.