Despite the difficult situation of the company, MCH representative said that selling art-ярмарки in their plans do not include

2020-й year proved to be one of the most challenging art-ярмарок around the world, and especially the parent company fair Art Basel MCH Group: in addition to the physical terminations in Hong Kong and Basel, the company had to deal with the departure of major watch brands — permanent participants of the fair design and luxury Baselworld, which was postponed to the end of 2020 and 2021. It is not surprising therefore, that the press began to leak information that different stakeholders have begun to study the question of buying Art Basel the company-владельца.

One of these interested parties, according to to Swiss publication Finanz und Wirtschaft, was Annette Semmel, Finance and management company XanaduAlpha. According to Semmel driven publication that she plans to gather a group of investors ready to buy out 70% of the assets of the MCH Group, including Art Basel. The approximate amount of the transaction, according to preliminary estimates, may amount to CHF 350 million ($370 million). It is planned that this project will be development — after the solution of problems and expansion of the Art Basel fair, may be sold to a new owner.

In turn commenting on the offer of Semmel to Artnet News, a representative of MCH Group, said: "the Board of Directors and the Executive Board [of the company] confirm that Art Basel has strategic importance for the MCH Group and, therefore, (partial) sale not negotiable". However, notwithstanding the official position of the company, the initiative of Semmel still supported by some shareholders of MCH Group. So, support the future sale of the assets of the company, which may increase the cost of Art Basel to CHF 500 million ($529 million), has already expressed the largest private shareholder MCH Erhard Lee, which owns 10% of the parent company of Art Basel.

Today announced that the Board of Directors of MCH Group is busy finding sources of funding that could cover the losses the company incurred for the months of the pandemic, and conducting intensive negotiations with potential investors. According to a source familiar with the situation in the company, "it all comes down to the fact that they are in a bad financial situation and are doing everything possible to attract new investors. And the current owners are ready to give their cent of the MCH Group to return the money."

So that in case if negotiations with investors will come to a standstill, soon Art Basel may change the owner.

the Material was prepared by Maria Kuznetsova AI

Source: news.artnet.com