* Informa has cash for bolt-on, not transformational M&A
* Informa probably would not bid for Reed Exhibitions
(Adds CEO quotes, detail)
By Victoria Howley and Brenda Goh
LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - British business media group Informa might make bolt-on acquisitions to increase its presence in high-end trade shows and conferences, its chief executive Peter Rigby told Reuters on Wednesday.
Rigby said Informa has about 120 million to 130 million pounds ($187-$203 million) of free cash to spend without increasing its debt and that transformational deals were not at the forefront of the company's agenda.
"I think through the cycle our profits from events will grow a bit. I'd like to move away from the lower end, where there is volatility, and to get more market leading events," he told the Reuters Global Media Summit in London.
Informa publishes the world's oldest shipping newspaper, Lloyd's List, and has a conference and exhibition portfolio that includes the high-profile SuperReturn annual private equity gathering.
Rigby added that Informa was unlikely to look at Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier's Reed Exhibitions portfolio because it would create too much scale on the events side of its business.
"I don't believe it's specifically for sale, so certainly we are not involved in that. I think we'd probably rule it out," he said.
Private equity firms Cinven and Apax have approached Reed Elsevier informally about its events branch, according to recent reports.
Informa was the focus of a bid battle in 2008 between a group of private equity firms and trade peer United Business Media.
Providence Equity Partners, Carlyle Group and Blackstone withdrew a 2 billion pound offer for the company two years ago due to the financial crisis.
That topped an earlier all-share nil premium offer from UBM, which was withdrawn under pressure from the competing bid.
"UBM approached us when we had too much debt, or at least when our share price was low ... It was opportunistic. Since then our strategy has been to increase the quality and resilience of our earnings," Rigby said. (Editing by Will Waterman)