VeronaFiere Invests in Venice Firm

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 7/5/2004

Italian agricultural and construction show producer VeronaFiere has acquired a 34-percent stake in Veneziafiere Spa, a Venice company that produces a variety of trade fairs.

The investment was part of a long-term plan VeronaFiere approved last fall to invest in and increase alliances with national and international exhibition companies with complementary properties.

Veneziafiere Spa's shareholders include the Venice local council and the province of Venice. It produces such trade fairs as BBExpo, an exhibition of cultural heritage and activity; Venezia Immagine, an exhibition of historical, modern and contemporary photography; Navalis, a sea exhibition; and Garum, an exhibition dedicated to Mediterranean cuisine.

VeronaFiere President Luigi Castelletti said in a statement that the acquisition, made with the company's own resources in late May, was in response to an invitation by the president of the Veneto Region to "build a system between exhibition centers on a territorial-regional basis."

VeronaFiere produces Fieragricola and Vinitaly in the agriculture sector; Samoter and Marmomacc in the building and construction industry; and Abitare il Tempo and Tesori dal Tempo, covering the furniture industry.