UBM Forms JV with EFEM to Expand its Baby Products Portfolio in Turkey

HONG KONG, Oct 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM announces that it has acquired 70% stake in EFEM based in Istanbul to form a JV company, UBM ICC to develop EFEM's baby products shows and to further expand UBM's global baby products portfolio.

EFEM is the organiser of the International Istanbul Mothers, Babies, Children Products Fair (MBCP) and Wintexpo Autumn Winter Baby Child Fashion Fair (Wintexpo), the leading baby shows in Turkey. Launched in 1992, MBCP in Istanbul is now the third largest baby products show in Europe. MBCP 2012 occupied 30,000 square metres of exhibition space at CNR Expo.

UBM owns and organises the annual Shanghai International Children-Baby-Maternity Industry Expo (CBME), Asia's largest baby products shows held every July in Shanghai, China. CBME 2012 brought together 1,287 international exhibitors and 53,583 unique visitors. The fair occupied 115,840 square metres of exhibition space at Shanghai New International Expo Centre, representing 44% growth over 2011. Riding on the success of CBME, UBM announced at CBME 2012 the launch of CBME shows in Brazil and India in 2013.

Same as CBME, the exhibit scope of MBCP also covers apparel, furniture, toy, food and services. Both events are based in a market with tremendous growth: China has the largest population in the world with continuous growth in consumption especially on children and baby products/services and Turkey has the highest birth rate in the world.

Erdal Baykara, founder and Managing Director of EFEM said: "We have had a close relationship with UBM for a while. Together with UBM, we believe that our 22 years of experience and knowledge in the baby and children products sector in the Turkish market will be further enriched. Connecting Europe and Asia, our fairs offer significant strategic value to the industry and this co-operation with UBM will definitely make them better known and will attract more participants from across the globe. We are very pleased to become a member of the big UBM family."

Jime Essink, President & Chief Executive Officer of UBM Asia said: "We have been supporting each other on the sales and marketing of our events with fruitful results. The formation of a JV company is a great leap forward. UBM will enlarge its footprint in the emerging Turkey market, extend our children-baby-maternity franchise globally, and improve all the events in the portfolio by applying our knowledge of best practices and cross promoting across a wider customer base. MBCP and Wintexpo, being the leading baby shows in Turkey will also benefit from UBM's strong international network in getting more international brands and participants to the shows. We are excited to be working with Erdal Baykara and Huseyin Irmak, founders and Managing Directors of EFEM and with the whole EFEM team. They will work in close cooperation with the other UBM businesses in Istanbul."

Notes to Editors

1. About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)
   Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia operates in 19 market sectors with headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia, including UBM China in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Beijing. We have over 240 products including trade fairs, conferences, trade publications, B2B/B2C portals and virtual event services. As Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in China, India and Malaysia, we stage the leading events of their kind across the region. Our 200 events, 24 publications and 16 vertical portals serve over 1,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world with high value face-to-face business-matching events, quality and instant market news and industry trends, and round-the-clock online trading networks and sourcing platforms. We have over 1,100 staff in 21 major cities across Asia, stretching from Japan to Turkey.
2. About UBM plc (www.ubm.com)
   UBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to www.ubm.com; follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc to get the latest UBM news.

For press enquiries, please contact:

Jennifer Law, Director of Corporate Marketing & Communications, UBM Asia
Tel: +852-2516-1691
Fax: +852-3749-7342
Email: Jennifer.Law@ubm.com