• Koelnmesse acquires all shares of Koelnmesse YA Tradefair Pvt. Ltd. and will operate as Koelnmesse Pvt. Ltd. in future.• Unified ownership paves the way for growth strategy in one of the world’s largest economies.
Koelnmesse YA Tradefair Pvt. Ltd, Koelnmesse’s subsidiary in India, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Cologne-based company at the beginning of 2023, when Koelnmesse GmbH took over the 25 per cent of the shares last held by the external shareholder Ashwani Pande. Immediately afterwards, the company was renamed “Koelnmesse Pvt. Ltd.”.
Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse, is delighted by this significant step: “Acquisition of the remaining 25 percent of the company makes Koelnmesse the sole shareholder of our subsidiary in India. This is an important step due to the significance of the Indian market as well as our excellent development prospects there.”
Milind Dixit, Managing Director of Koelnmesse YA Tradefair Pvt. Ltd. Ltd, adds: “As a wholly owned subsidiary, we are now even stronger. We will be able to respond to trends faster and continuously expand our trade fair portfolio in India.”
With this acquisition, Koelnmesse is paving the way for a significantly higher market share in the region. The growth strategy involves both the expansion of existing trade fairs and the development of new formats. Among other events, the International Hardware Fair India, a new event powered by the INTERNATIONAL HARDWARE FAIR, will be held for the first time in New Delhi this year (2 – 4 December 2023). Further satellite events to the Cologne trade fairs are already in planning as well.
In recent years, Koelnmesse’s focus in India has been on trade fairs within its food and foodtec area of expertise. Trade fairs such as ANUFOOD India (Mumbai), ANUTEC – International FoodTec India (alternating between Mumbai and New Delhi) or the India International Dairy Expo (Mumbai) attracted over 800 exhibitors and more than 50,000 visitors in 2022 alone.
Koelnmesse YA Tradefair Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 2008 as a joint venture between Koelnmesse and Ashwani Pande. The subsidiary’s reach with 28 employees has gradually expanded to include India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. It has its headquarters in Mumbai as well as a representative office in New Delhi.
