Messe Düsseldorf has halted negotiations with Brno officials over the sale of its 61-percent stake in Veletrhy Brno, the operator of the city’s exhibition grounds. They won’t be resumed until after the fall elections, write Hospodářské noviny. The two sides have been trying to hammer out a deal for more than two years, but the German majority stakeholder now believes it best to resume talks once the new Brno leadership is in place. The paper writes that CE business is no longer a priority for Messe Düsseldorf, which is shifting its focus to Asia.
The 61-percent stake in Veletrhy Brno has been estimated at CZK 770m. Messe Düsseldorf wants to sell the whole stake, while the city, which has a 34-percent holding in the company, would prefer to buy just 17 percent. Veletrhy Brno’s operations have been hit by the crisis, biting into both profits and the number of annual exhibitors, which dropped from around 10,000 before the crisis to 5,700 in 2012.
