UBM Asia Announces Proposed Acquisition of NOVOMANIA in China

HONG KONG, March 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM Asia announces that it has signed a binding agreement with NOVO Mania Limited, the organiser of NOVOMANIA, to acquire this annual urban fashion event in Shanghai. Upon completion, UBM will own 60% of a joint venture company, with NOVO Mania Limited, called UBM Novomania, to organise NOVOMANIA from 2013 onwards.

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NOVOMANIA was launched in 2010 as an annual urban fashion event by the NOVO group of companies, a retailing and fashion conglomerate based in Hong Kong that operates and distributes over 50 international brands and has stores across 45 cities in China, and one of its partners, Focus Workshop, an innovative full service agency in China with expertise in luxury brands in beauty and wellness, fashion, real estate and FMCG. By bringing together designers, brands, buyers, distributors, retailers, franchisees, department stores, mall operators, real estate developers and the media, it creates a platform for introducing retail concepts to international brands which are seeking to enter the China market and for providing new business opportunities for domestic brands.

Showcasing the latest trends in major areas of urban fashion such as Denim&Urban, Sports&Street, Shoes&Accessories, Fashion&Chic and Contemporary&Premium, NOVOMANIA held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre in March 2012 occupied 25,000 gross sqm of exhibition space and welcomed 117 exhibitors from 13 countries and over 13,000 visitors. This year, Novomania will be held from 17 - 19 July at Shanghai Mart.

Jime Essink, President & Chief Executive Officer of UBM Asia said:

"China is already the second-largest apparel market in the world and is set to surpass the US to become the world's largest market in a few years. We are very pleased to partner with NOVO Mania Limited in the development and growth of this cutting edge fashion event targeted at the very rapidly-growing urban youth segment of the market. This joint venture continues our strategy of focusing on sectors and markets with the most exciting growth potential."

Mr Alan Fang, CEO of NOVO Group said:

"NOVOMANIA has already established the reputation as the urban trendy fashion trade show in China for international brands. We see tremendous growth in the future due to greater interests from international brands as well as the growth of local brands. We are excited to partner strategically with UBM, a leading global business media company, Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in mainland China, to expand NOVOMANIA even faster and further to be the dominant platform gateway for any brand looking to reach China's trendy fashion apparel market."

Mr Guilherme Faria, General Manager of NOVOMANIA, together with his team, will be incorporated into the UBM China (Shanghai) office, reporting to the board of UBM Novomania.

Notes to Editors

1.      About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)
Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in mainland China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global presence in 25 major cities with 29 offices and over 1,200 staff.

With a track record spanning over 30 years, UBM Asia operates in 19 market sectors with 160 dynamic face-to-face exhibitions, 75 high-level professional conferences, 28 targeted trade publications, 18 round-the-clock vertical portals and virtual event services for over 1,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world. We provide a one-stop diversified global service for high-value business matching, quality market news and online trading networks.

UBM Asia has extensive office networks in China, Southeast Asia and India, three of the world's fastest growing B2B events markets. UBM China has 11 offices in the major cities in mainland China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen, where we organise more than 60 exhibitions and conferences. In ASEAN, UBM Asia operates from its offices in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines with over 50 events in this region. UBM India teams in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad organise 20 exhibitions and 60 conferences every year across the country.

2.      About UBM plc (www.ubm.com)
UBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to www.ubm.com; follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc to get the latest UBM news.

3.      About NOVO Holdco Limited
NOVO, founded in 2004 by Chairman and CEO Alan Fang, is a fast-growing fashion apparel retailer focused on the 18-30 age demographic in China. NOVO is a first mover to satisfy unmet demand in the youth fashion apparel market in China and is well positioned to experience higher growth by focusing on the right demographics, regions, and price points. The company mainly operates a specialised department store chain focused on fashion apparel and accessories for China's urban youth. The business currently has 16 operational stores in selected major cities inside shopping malls and department stores. In addition, the company also operates a franchise of retail stores selling international fashion apparel and accessory brands and organises NOVOMANIA.

For additional information, please visit NOVO's websites at:
www.novoconcept.com.cn and www.novomania.com.cn

For press enquiries, please contact:

Jennifer Law, Director of Corporate Marketing & Communications, UBM Asia
Tel: +852-2516-1691 
Fax: +852-3749-7342
Email: Jennifer.Law@ubm.com