Brno wants to retain the option to decide on the direction of the Brno Trade Fairs

Brno - Brno wants to acquire a majority stake in the Exhibition Center Brno company, or at least retain the authority to decide on the future direction of the company, confirmed Mayor Petr Vokřál (ANO) after a meeting with representatives of Messe Düsseldorf. According to him, the sale, which the German owner of 61 percent of the shares announced back in September 2012, should be completed as soon as possible, aiming for completion by the end of the year. Vokřál wants the exhibition area to continue serving exhibition activities, as stated in a press release.
    Negotiations have so far been stalled due to appraisals being made on the value of the shareholders' stake. Both the city and Messe Düsseldorf commissioned their own appraisals. The appraisal prepared by the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is now to be updated. An expert group will be created at the city hall, which will prepare legal and economic materials for city bodies for decision-making. In March, there will also be a change in the representatives of the city in the bodies of the joint-stock company. Currently, the politicians from the former city's leadership sit in those positions.
    It is unclear at what price nearly two-thirds of the shares will eventually be sold. Information has varied by hundreds of millions of crowns. The city currently owns 34 percent of the shares and has a preemptive right to the German stake.
    "The city is interested in further strengthening the exhibition industry in Brno, which is one of the significant exhibition cities in Europe. The decision of Messe Düsseldorf should be considered final, and the option should be utilized so that the city does not lose influence over this strategically important company. Together with its management, we want to consider the optimal use of the exhibition center, so as not to disrupt the exhibition business in Brno," stated Vokřál. According to him, there are two possible options. Either the city buys enough shares to obtain a majority stake. The second option is that a financial partner would join in the purchase of shares. "In that case, we would have to set rules for the management of the company and the company's development so that we do not end up in a stalemate," Vokřál said today at the city council meeting.
    The General Director of the Exhibitions, Jiří Kuliš, described the two-and-a-half-year situation as a stalemate. "I am convinced that transferring the majority ownership stake to the city will end the speculation about non-exhibitional use of the exhibition center and will guarantee the preservation of exhibition activities and their effects, which are irreplaceable," said Kuliš, referring to speculations about building a sports hall on the premises.
    However, the ordinary activities of the company are not threatened by the long-lasting situation, and the exhibition calendar is planned until 2018. The company has also managed to return to positive figures after loss-making operations in 2009 and 2010, and it is expected that profitable operations can be maintained in the coming years.