EXP Expomedia Grp

    RNS Number : 1143J
  Expomedia Group PLC
  27 November 2008
   
    27 November 2008


    EXPOMEDIA GROUP PLC

    ("Expomedia" or "the Group")


    DISPOSAL OF INTEREST

    Expomedia Group plc, the AIM quoted media group with interests in exhibitions, conferences, venue management and related publishing,
announces today that it has entered in a contract to dispose of the assets of its subsidiary Expocentre Koln GmbH, owner of the business
lease of the Cologne venue ("Expocentre Koln") to Expo XXI Koln GmbH ("Purchaser").  

    The Purchaser is a company controlled by Christoph Renevier who is also a 20 per cent. minority shareholder in Expomedia Deutschland
GmbH, the parent company of Expocentre Koln. Expomedia owns the remaining 80 per cent of Expomedia Deutschland GmbH.

    The aggregate consideration payable by the Purchaser is EUR1.7 million. It is anticipated that the sale of the assets Expocentre Koln,
which include a lease on the Cologne venue, will be completed before 15 December 2008 when the Purchaser will pay the sum of EUR1.7 million.
The directors expect that following this sale that Expomedia Deutschland GMBH will dispose of the shares in  Expocentre Koln GMBH no later
than the end of January 2009 when the Purchaser will pay an expected consideration of EUR0.3 million.

    In the year ended 31 December 2007 the revenue of Expocentre Koln was EUR1.5million and the loss before tax was EUR0.8million.

    The carrying value of the Groups investment in Expocentre Koln, is EUR0.3 million and, as a consequence of the transaction, the Group
will realise an exceptional gain of EUR1.7 million on the both transactions less associated legal costs and tax.  

    The Board has, for some time, been negotiating without success to sell the Cologne business lease in Germany to the Purchaser, however
the Purchaser was unable to obtain the requisite bank finance to complete the sale.  Roger Shashoua, a non executive director of the
Company, in a personal capacity, has lent EUR390,000 to Christoph Renevier to enable the transaction to proceed. 

    In addition, on Friday, 21 November 2008, Roger Shashoua also provided an additional working capital loan of EUR350,000 to the Group's
Polish venue business to cover an immediate working capital shortfall. This is in addition to the EUR1million loan made by Roger Shashoua to
Group in August 2008, pursuant to the EUR2.0 million loan facility that was made available by Roger Shashoua to the Group and which was
announced on 5 August 2008.  The net proceeds to the Group from the German sale after the repayment of loans to Roger Shashoua will be
approximately EUR700,000 which would otherwise not be available to the Group. 

    Christoph Renevier, by virtue of being a 20 per cent shareholder of a subsidiary of the Group, is deemed a related party for the
purposes of AIM Rule 13. The Directors, excluding Roger Shashoua, having consulted with Charles Stanley Securities, the Company's Nominated
Adviser, believe that the disposal of the Group's interest in the Cologne business lease is fair and reasonable insofar as shareholders are
concerned.


    --END--


    Enquiries:

    Bishopsgate Communications Ltd.
Maxine Barnes
Gemma O'Hara
    Tel: 020 7562 3350

    Expomedia Group Plc
Mark Shashoua/Darra Comyn
Tel: 020 8386 0070

    Charles Stanley Securities (Nominated Adviser)
Mark Taylor
Tel: 020 7149 6000



This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
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