Meetings management firm Maritz Travel announced the acquisition of Experient,

one of the largest third-party meetings management companies. Experient will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Maritz, and Experient CEO Jeff Price "will be stepping down," according to a Maritz statement. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The two firms in 2011 "represented more than $2 billion in industry volume spend and nearly 3 million travelers served," according to Maritz. "The event industry has had to evolve as a result of a volatile business environment," said Maritz Travel president David Peckinpaugh in a statement. "Spend is returning to pre-recession levels, and together Maritz Travel and Experient are leading the market in delivering the flexibility and range of services organizations need to achieve growing and increasingly aggressive business results."