DMG Takes Interest in Western Exhibitors
Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 3/1/2001
DMG World Media has purchased for $10 million a 25 percent stake in Western Exhibitors Inc., the San Francisco-based producer of gift shows in the western United States. Under the agreement, two new entities will be created: Western Exhibitors LLC (WE) and Universal Shows Inc. (USI). WE will own the San Francisco International Gift Fair (SFIGF), the Seattle Gift Show, and the Portland Gift and Accessories Show, and USI will manage them through 2005, when DMG will assume 100 percent ownership of WE. After that, USI has the option to continue to manage the shows. "This [kind of partnership] is something we've resisted for years," said WE's president, Mike Dean. "We've been courted by others, and we probably would not have done it this time had GLM not pulled the trigger first," he added, referring to the George Little Management and DMG partnership announced last fall. GLM has managed the special sections of the SFIGF since 1994. Dean also said that he fully expects to exercise USI's option to continue managing the shows after 2005.
USI will have the same staff, offices, and private ownership as the former Western Exhibitors Inc. In addition to presenting the West Coast shows owned by WE, USI will co-present the Boston Gift Show and the Washington Gift Show with GLM. USI will retain ownership of the Northwest Home Furnishings Show, the San Francisco Holiday Bonus Show, and the Toronto International Art Fair, as well as ownership interests in the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show and the International New Age Trade Shows.
