Staging Connections Acquires businesses overseas

Events services company, Staging Connections Group Limited (ASX:STG) has acquired 100% of UK based Essential Lighting Group Limited for a cash consideration of A$17 million and acquired the 30% minority interest in Singapore based The Event Company for A$3 million in cash and shares.

The acquisitions, which are effective from 1 November 2007, are expected to boost annual EPS by 2 cents, given the mix of cash and shares used and based on pro-forma annualised performance for the 12 months to 30 June 2008.

The Essential Lighting Group Limited Acquisition 

Established in 1993, Essential Lighting is the UK’s premier event lighting organisation and is expected to deliver annualised revenue of A$14 million with strong margins. 

The company is a leader in the European live events market, providing full service lighting solutions for the region’s major corporate and entertainment events.

“Essential Lighting is an excellent fit with our growing network of global event services,” said STG Chief Executive, Michael Gardner.  “The company is internationally recognised for its creative energy and technical lighting services. Essential Lighting has a strong management team, a stable core employee base of 60 and a strong track record of revenue and earnings growth,” Gardner said.  

The purchase enhances STG’s operations in the European, Middle East and African (EMEA) region and delivers a strong base for entry into the UK and European live events market.

‘We are very excited about the opportunities presented by becoming part of a global, professional group of event specialists,” said Essential Lighting Managing Director, Martin Locket. “We remain focused on supplying our clients in the UK and Europe live events industry with the best equipment and support for every size of event.”

Ongoing Consolidation in Asia

STG has also acquired the 30% minority interest in its Singapore-based full service event agency, The Event Company Staging Connections (TECSC) for a consideration of A$3 million, consisting of A$1.2 million cash and 1.2 million new STG shares.

It is expected this purchase will boost net profit after tax by A$0.4 million in the 07/08 financial year.

STG announced in early October 2007 that it had acquired the minority interests in ETG (China and Hong Kong) and Techmex (Singapore and Malaysia) together with the acquisition of 100% of Techmex Event Production (China) for a combined consideration of A$9.6 million (comprising cash of A$6.8 million and issue of 2.0 million new STG shares).

The move to full ownership of its existing Asian businesses completes the second phase of STG’s expansion strategy in Asia, positioning the company to pursue further growth in the region via acquisitions to further develop its now unparalleled event services offering in the region. The South-East Asian and China region now accounts for annual revenue of A$40 million.

About the Staging Connections Group

Staging Connections Group Limited is a publicly listed international event services company which delivers an extensive range of integrated and specialised services from four key divisions: Integrated Event and AV Services, Specialised Event Services, Exhibitions and Produced Events.  SCGL has more than 1100 staff and operates from over 21 offices in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, the Middle East, UK, South East Asia and China, delivering world class expertise for live events to clients worldwide.

A Report by The Mole