Art Basel’s Parent Company Has Offloaded Its Stake in the India Art Fair as It Continues Divesting From Regional Fairs

The MCH Group announced today
that it has sold its majority stake in the India Art Fair,
furthering its goal of selling off its shares in regional
events.

The Swiss-based parent company
of Art Basel unloaded its 65 percent stake in Seventh Plane Networks Private Limited, the
organizer of the Delhi-based fair, to Angus
Montgomery Limited, an event-production company run by Sandy
Angus. Angus Montgomery already owned the other 35 percent of Seventh Plane
Networks, making it the sole owner of company and its
portfolio. 

“We are delighted that a
reputable and reliable partner is taking over our shares and making
a very strong commitment to [the] India Art Fair,” Bernd
Stadlwieser, MCH Group’s new CEO, said in a statement. “[Sandy
Angus] will support the fair in continuing its successful
development.”

With the acquisition, Angus
Montgomery strengthens its grip on the art fair market in southeast
Asia. The company operates more fairs in the region than any other
organizer, boasting a portfolio that includes Art Central Hong
Kong, Taipei Dangdai, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, and Art SG in Singapore.
A spokesperson for the company declined to reveal how much it paid
for the acquisition of MCH’s shares. 

For MCH, the selloff was a long
time coming. Last fall, as part of a larger effort to reduce costs
and streamline operations, the company announced plans sell its
interests in the
regional fairs it had
invested in just two years prior. MCH then moved its
shares of
Art Düsseldorf in May to Sandy Angus and entrepreneur Tim
Etchells.

The next edition of the India
Art Fair, set for January and February 2020, will go on as planned,
the fair’s director Jagdip Jagpal told the Art
Newspaper. 

The post Art Basel’s Parent Company Has Offloaded Its Stake
in the India Art Fair as It Continues Divesting From Regional
Fairs appeared first on artnet News.