EUROPE – The ink has dried on ExpoForum’s series of agreements with Lenexpo to make it the largest exhibition organiser in St. Petersburg, as well as an operator of the Lenexpo exhibition complex.
ExpoForum acquired Lenexpo's entire portfolio of exhibitions, including trademarks and data bases of exhibition projects, and from 2012 all shows will be held under the ExpoForum name.
As part of the deal ExpoForum leased the Lenexpo exhibition complex for the period of 1 November 2011 to 31 December 2013. After the opening of the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre in 2014, events will be held at this new venue.
Lenexpo employees are currently being transferred to ExpoForum, the head office of which is located on the 14th floor of the Birzha business centre on Vasilevsky Island, St Petersburg, close to the Lenexpo exhibition complex.
"Such gradual transition from the existing venue to a new one provided by the acquisition of Lenexpo's exhibition business and the creation of a single organiser, will ensure continuity of the events, and the process will be harmonious and natural for all market players,'' said ExpoForum general director, Anatoly Erkulov.
''For the remaining two years before the opening of the new convention and exhibition centre, our task is to increase the capitalisation of the acquired business and achieve growth of exhibition quantity and quality indicators, as well as to improve service. We inherited Lenexpo's many years of experience and its employees, which is a good basis for further development," Erkulov added.
Lenexpo general director Sergey Alekseyev explained: "We didn't have the investment to create a modern convention centre on the basis of the existing complex, as in say, Singapore, Cologne or Shanghai. With new shareholders and business restructuring, we have a chance to create a company of global standards. I will represent both companies in the Russian and international associations and unions, where I am a member of the board.''
After the new complex has been opened and all exhibitions have been transferred to the new venue, Lenexpo's territory will undergo a massive transformation, expanded by using the basin of Galerny Kovsh, which ExpoForum bought the water resources management rights to last month.
The general concept of Lenexpo's redevelopment will be decided by the end of 2011, the same time the integration of the companies is expected to be completed.
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