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Messe Frankfurt’s new group structure is in place
Event business transferred to Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH
By assembling event business in a legally independent subsidiary,
Messe Frankfurt will be able to place a greater focus on its core competence
in the future, namely the planning and organisation of international fairs at
the Frankfurt venue and worldwide.
Messe Frankfurt’s new group structure is in place. Backdated to 1 January
2004, the whole of the event business has been spun off and transferred to Messe
Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary. The spin-off was officially
recorded recently by a Notary Public in the presence of representatives of the
City of Frankfurt and the State of Hesse and the Messe Frankfurt Board of Management.
It becomes legally effective upon entry in the Trade Register, which is expected
to be completed within the next few weeks.
The group’s property holdings and all its services associated with the
trade fair site and halls were already moved to the newly formed Messe Frankfurt
Venue GmbH & Co KG last year. All the group’s own events in Germany
and abroad have been united in the operating company, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition
GmbH. They primarily comprise leading international fairs, such as Heimtextil,
Ambiente, Light + Building, Tendence Lifestyle, Automechanika and Musikmesse/
Prolight + Sound.
In the 2003 financial year, some 110 fairs were organised, of which 60 were
held outside Germany. As a logical consequence, the 14 subsidiaries responsible
for fair organisation in Germany and abroad have also been allocated to Messe
Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH. Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH will act as a private
trade fair organiser without its own venue. It is the principal tenant of Messe
Frankfurt Venue GmbH & Co KG, which primarily concentrates on maintenance,
development and marketing of the trade fair centre, offers on-site technical
and other services and handles business with guest events, like IAA, the Frankfurt
Book Fair and Achema. The Accente Gastronomie Service GmbH and Messe Frankfurt
Medien & Service GmbH subsidiaries have been allocated to Messe Frankfurt
Venue.
Acting as a holding company, Messe Frankfurt GmbH takes over strategic control
and overall co-ordination. The members of the board of management hold offices
both at the holding company and at the property-owning and operating companies,
thus ensuring unity of planning and communication. It is also the holding company
that provides financial resources and acts within the internal relationship
like an investor, taking decisions on the basis of strategic criteria and long-term
profits.Messe Frankfurt is the first German trade fair organiser to conduct
its business in separate companies for property and operation. Michael von Zitzewitz,
head of Messe Frankfurt, explains: “The new group structure not only enhances
cost transparency but also - and above all - it boosts our flexibility and enlarges
our scope for action in entering partnerships at different levels, with which
we plan to expand our market status in both Europe and Asia.”
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