Airgate Holdings Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of exhibitions business ITE Group, has acquired 28.3% of the shares of Asian Business Exhibitions & Conferences Ltd. (ABEC) from Qatari Investment bank QInvest. The total consideration is c. INR (Indian Rupees) 1,227 million (£14 million), which is payable in cash on completion. The acquisition will be funded from existing cash resources and agreed debt facilities. There are arrangements in place to enable ITE to increase its shareholding in future.
ABEC generated profits of INR 140 million (£1.6 million) in the year ended 31 March 2012 on revenues of c. INR 1.1 billion (£12.5 
million) and had gross assets of INR 1,724 million (£20 million) at completion.
ABEC run 19 exhibitions in India across 11 vertical markets including construction, architecture, design, education, lifestyle, real estate, and oil & gas. ABEC’s 8% market share makes it India’s largest private exhibition organiser.
Commenting on the acquisition, ITE’s Chief Executive Officer, Russell Taylor, said:
“ABEC has a quality portfolio of events with strong market positions in sectors where ITE has an established presence such as construction, oil & gas and security. ABEC’s events in the construction and design sector total more than 65,000m2 net of sold exhibition space, giving ITE an interest in India’s dominant trade shows for this growing sector.
“With expertise in this sector and its strong international sales network, ITE can deliver significant value to ABEC’s business. Along with ITE’s current business in India, this gives ITE a leading position in a dynamic region with an exhibition industry that is currently experiencing strong growth.”
ITE also announced its preliminary results today for the year to 30th September 2012. The financial highlights are below:
- Revenues up 11% to £172m ; Headline profits up 3% to £53m
- Net cash of £20.0m at 30th November 2012
- £95m of revenues booked for 2013
Full details here
UK, London & India, Mumbai
Related articles:
- ITE Group acquires Krasnodar Expo Posted on March 3, 2011
- ITE Group acquires Russian exhibition organiser, MVK for €33 million December 20, 2010
- ITE acquires two Ukrainian exhibitions Posted on April 16, 2012
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