Posted by

Barry Siskind

UFIs Community Manager

The deadline for registering for UFI’s Open Seminar in Jakarta is quickly approaching. One of this year’s speakers, Steve Monnington, is well-known in our industry and always has valuable and thought-provoking information to pass along. His presentation this year is titled: International Partnerships: A Key growth catalyst. I recently caught up with him to ask a couple of questions about his upcoming presentation.

Barry: What are the key characteristics an organizer should look for from a prospective international partner?

Steve: Although money is the ultimate reason for working with an international partner – the intervening period between the partner buying an initial stake and acquiring the remaining shares at a later stage, is the key to capital growth for the local organizer.

The other key factors include presence and influence in their own core sectors. This doesn’t just mean the delivery of international exhibitors and buyers but also the ability to add value through increased content using their expertise in what works for them elsewhere in the world. We have handled a number of deals where the local partner has decided to work with a particular international partner even though their offer for the initial share of the business was not the highest, simply because they felt they could add more growth and therefore make the remaining shares more valuable over the next few years. None of this is possible to achieve without a close fit in business philosophy and approach and this is the other key characteristic that will determine who they choose.

Barry: What are the early warning signs that would indicate a prospective partner may not be the right fit?

Steve: We encourage our clients to discuss the wider aspects of business development with prospective partners before they accept an offer. This way they can focus on what the business might look like in 3 years time, not just how it has developed up to the present. Both parties have to do due diligence. It’s not enough to say “yes we can deliver international sales”. It is through these discussions that the local organizer will get a good sense of whether they are on the same wavelength. Some warning signs would be;

  • A reluctance to discuss future new projects      (“Lets just get the deal done first.”)
  • The fact that they have other business      partnerships in the same market that could cause a conflict or inhibit the      development of the business (“This is a secondary acquisition.”)
  • The people who will be involved in running the      business are not the people who are involved in the acquisition process      (“We’ll hand this over to our commercial team once the deal is      done.”)

This first UFI Open Seminar of 2013 will be held from February 28 to March 1 in Jakarta, Indonesia. For anyone who has considered or is now actively involved in Asia’s exhibition market, this promises to be a great event. Check out the program at: http://jakarta2013.ufi.evenium.com And don’t forget that the UFI Open Seminar in the Middle East will be held from March 24-26 in Oman and the Open Seminar in Europe will take place in Malmo, Sweden from June 17-19.  Info is available on all UFI programmes at www.ufi.org.