EUROPE - Tarsus has agreed to purchase a 70 per cent stake in Turkish exhibition organiser Lifemedia Fuarcilik A.S. (“Life Media”), nearing its aim to make half of all revenues from emerging markets by 2013.
The firm will pay an initial fee of TL30m ($16.5m) for the stake, with estimated deferred payments of a further TL14.4m due next year. The deal was brokered by Mayfield Media Strategies and will bring Tarsus’ share of profits from emerging markets to 43 per cent.
Life Media, established in 1997, owns and organises two annual exhibitions in Istanbul: Zuchex (September); and Ideal Home Fair (April). The company also publishes related trade journals, one English and two Turkish language. Founder Irfan Tiras will continue to manage the business after its acquisition.
Tarsus Group MD Douglas Emslie revealed in May 2011 that the firm planned further expansion into Turkey, after acquiring the Istanbul Fair Organisation (IFO).
“The Turkish exhibition market is one of the fastest growing in the world. The acquisition of Life Media, coupled with our acquisition of IFO last year, means that we now have one of the largest international exhibition businesses in Turkey,” he said.
“Life Media’s exhibitions are the market leaders, not only in the domestic Turkish market but in the wider region. Given Turkey's unique geographic position on the crossroads between East and West, we believe there is a significant opportunity to develop the existing Life Media portfolio into world-leading events.”
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