ITE Group’s subsidiary Airgate Holdings has acquired a 31.7 per cent share of Mumbai-based ABEC Exhibitions and Conferences, taking its overall share to 60 per cent.
The stake, acquired for around £14m, follows the company’s acquisition of a minority stake of 28.3 per cent in ABEC in December 2012.
The new acquisition was financed out of the Group’s existing bank facilities and is expected to be earnings enhancing in the current financial year.
Following the completion of this transaction ITE will have net debt of around £65m, and continues to trade comfortably within its banking facilities.
ABEC runs over 20 exhibitions across different industry sectors including building and interiors, education, fashion, real estate, and oil and gas.
ABEC’s current management team includes chairman Sumit Gandhi and COO Manish Gandhi, who own the remaining 40 per cent of the shares, and will remain working for the business.
Commenting on the acquisition, ITE’s chief executive officer, Russell Taylor, said: "ITE is continuing to build businesses in strategically important industry sectors and the increase in our holding of ABEC enhances our presence in the Indian exhibition market which offers significant potential. ABEC continues to perform well and this move represents further progress in achieving the Group’s ambitions to expand its operations in markets and geographies with further potential for growth as well as continuing to diversify the geo- political risk in our portfolio.”
