TURKEY - ITE Group has acquired a 60 per cent stake in Turkish exhibition company YEM Fuarcilik (YEMF) for up to £16.3m (US$26m).
The purchase price includes an upfront cash payment of £13.1m, plus up to £3.2m payable nine months after completion and based on YEMF achieving its 2011 performance targets. YEMF owns three Turkish exhibitions covering the building materials and construction industries including TurkeyBuild, an annual construction event held in Istanbul every April/May.
The deal was undertaken by ITE Group’s Turkish subsidiary E Uluslararası Fuar Tanıtım Hizmetleri A.S (EUF). The remaining 40 per cent of YEMF will continue to be held by Yapi-Endüstri Merkezi A.S (Yapi), which provides data and information services to Turkey’s building materials and construction industries. ITE can acquire the remaining shares on agreed terms over a three- to five-year period.
"TurkeyBuild Istanbul is the market-leading building and construction exhibitions in Turkey,” ITE chief executive Russell Taylor said in a statement. “The addition of these three exhibitions to ITE's Turkish business is consistent with our strategy of building market-leading positions in core markets and sectors.
“ITE has a strong portfolio of construction exhibitions and an established base of supportive international exhibitors.YEMF's events are already market leaders in Turkey but will benefit from access to ITE's international customer base and construction events in Russia and CIS."
Taylor also highlighted ITE’s international sales network as a growth opportunity for YEMF. ITE meanwhile, will benefit from the continuing partnership with Yapi and its activities within the building materials and construction sectors, he said.
The 2011 edition of TurkeyBuild attracted 110,000 visitors and covered 35,000sqm. YEMF’s other two exhibitions are held in Ankara and Izmir. The company’s annual operating profits sit at £3m and its gross assets at £5.7m.
Earlier this year, ITE acquired Russian exhibition business Krasnodar Expo.
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