Tarsus Group buys stake in E.J. Krause & Associates

26th Nov 2013 10:50

Business-to-business media company Tarsus Group is establishing a joint venture with E.J. Krause & Associates (EJK) through the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in the company which owns two major exhibitions in Mexico.The joint venture owns two events in Mexico. The first is Plastimagen, an exhibition for the plastics industry, focusing on plastics processing and ancillary equipment. The event, which will be next held in November 2014, attracts engineering and production professionals from plastics processing, packaging and manufacturing companies. The second event is Expo Manufactura, a metalworking/manufacturing exhibition, featuring machine tools, assembly technology, fabricating, software, coil winding and welding technologies. The show takes place annually, with the next edition due to be held in March 2014.The acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive in 2014. "Mexico is a large and fast-growing market that has close trading ties with the US. The Mexican exhibition market is highly fragmented at present and offers exciting potential for growth," said Tarsus Group Managing Director, Douglas Emslie.Investec recommended a 'buy' rating for the shares and a target price of 270p after the announcement."New 50% JV stake in Mexico with an established international private operator, EJ Krause (EJK), gives a new, attractive, low risk emerging market growth bridgehead," the broker said.Shares in Tarsus fell 1% to 248p at 11:21 on Tuesday.RD