Three bids have been submitted for the privatization of a majority stake in Hungexpo Rt., a state-owned trade fair and event organizing company. The bidders include local heavyweight investment companies with strong political connections.
Out of six contenders, three consortia gave bids for Hungexpo by the Jan. 11 deadline, suggesting that the government could finally sell the company after having tried to do so for about a decade.
French fair organizing firm GL Events – the sole bidder in the last, unsuccessful attempt to sell Hungexpo in spring 2004 – this time teamed up with TriGránit Rt., owned by influential real estate tycoon Sándor Demján. Demján stayed away from bidding last time, because he did not maintain friendly relationship with former Prime Minister, Péter Medgyessy, and so his chances were deemed weak.
Another local investment company, Wallis Rt., selected British fair organizing firm Expomedia Group Plc. as a new partner in its consortium for the Hungexpo deal. Publicly traded Expomedia was rumored to be a favorite choice for Hungexpo CEO János Barabás.
For his part, Barabás is believed to be a member of the third bidding consortium. This third contender is lead by Germany’s ECE Projektmanagement, the developer of the Árkád shopping centers in Budapest and Pécs. The group includes V.H.V. Kft., owned by György Vas, the owner of Mágnáskert Étterem, which became famous in 2003 for providing catering for a special government session in Söjtör, Zala County.
The consortium also includes Carion Holding Rt., a company that recently purchased 35,000 hectares of land near Ferihegy Airport, and Hungexpo’s employee share ownership organization. The involvement of the employee organization could give this latter group special advantages, as the latest amendment to the privatization law prescribes that employee organizations enjoy preemption rights in the sale of state-owned companies.
