Despite this week's earlier warnings of liquidation, the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre (MFCC) seems to have weathered a storm, after an agreement between its shareholders was "very close to being reached" by the time of going to print yesterday.

Sign-It Ltd, which previously owned 25 per cent of the shares, is expected to buy out the other 75 per cent owned by Fairs & Exhibitions Ltd, meaning that MFCC will continue to operate but under the full ownership of Sign-It.

This comes as a blessing for those companies that had already booked MFCC's services for forthcoming events such as the Michael Bolton concert and the MADC's Christmas' pantomime.

The 32 employees of the MFCC can also breathe a sigh of relief, after days of uncertainty in which Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin advised them to discontinue working until their wages can be guaranteed.

The problems at MFCC seem to have been the result of mismanagement, as the company was plagued by changes in leadership, numerous resignations, and disagreements at board level as to which direction the company should take.

Three weeks ago, five of the eight board members resigned, including the chairman, Paul Abela, so MFCC was left with only three board representatives. It was also reported that the company was owed €1.6 million, and an even larger amount of debts were suspected to be owed by the company itself, creating a serious cash-flow problem. Some creditors have also taken court action against MFCC, aggravating the situation further.

On Monday, the chairman of Fairs & Exhibitions Alfred Calleja declined an offer of €500,000 made by Reuben Caruana to buy out the 75 per cent of the shares.

But the offer was expected to have improved substantially and the deal is said to have been very close to being sealed, as opposed to the doomsday attitude taken only a few days ago that the company was bankrupt and would inevitably face liquidation.

Fairs & Exhibitions, which was established over 50 years ago by various bodies including the government, the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Industry and the Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce will continue to encourage its members to take part in any fairs organised.

This includes the yearly trade fair that will now be organised solely by Sign-It-owned MFCC.

Last July saw the yearly trade fair being organised at MFCC in Ta' Qali for the first time after it moved from the Naxxar grounds. But in the process, the number of exhibitors had reduced considerably as had the number of visitors.

A GRTU survey among exhibitors at the trade fair found that 48 per cent registered a worse performance than last year, while MFCC said the event had drawn 70,000 visitors, compared to about 100,000 when the fair was held at Naxxar.

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