Temasek and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) have entered into an agreement to merge their respective MICE subsidiaries, SingEx Holdings and Sphere Exhibits, to form SingEx-Sphere Holdings (SingEx-Sphere).
Temasek will own 60 per cent in SingEx-Sphere, with SPH owning 40 per cent. Robin Hu, chairman of SingEx, will be chairman of SingEx-Sphere once the transaction is complete.
SingEx-Sphere aims to be a regional MICE market leader for hybrid events driving best-in-class solutions from a combined portfolio of events management, venue and consultancy businesses. The merged entity is also looking to add intellectual properties in the form of new events and exhibitions via both organic curation and inorganic investments.
Ng Yat Chung, CEO of SPH, said: “This merger will allow us to tap on each other’s expertise, resources and networks to seize new opportunities to enhance the portfolio and achieve growth regionally.”
Hu said in a statement: “Events and Exhibitions remain the most robust marketing channels for businesses around the world. Both SingEx and Sphere Exhibits, with over five decades of combined experience in organising and hosting trade and consumer shows across a variety of sectors, have built a strong foundation for the MICE scene in Singapore and our region.
“We believe Covid, while having a dampening impact in the short term, had given rise to new opportunities in the form of hybrid activities hitherto unimagined. Our industry is fast becoming a digitally enabled intellectual property business. Those who are adaptable, nimble and unafraid to reinvent will succeed,” Hu noted.
