At a cooperative meeting in April 2023, Olma Messen St.Gallen announced its plans to change its legal form from a cooperative to a stock company (Aktiengesellschaft; AG). According to a press release, the reason behind this is that the company requires additional equity. Olma Messen has recorded huge losses over the past two years as a result of the pandemic. No pandemic grants were taken in 2021 and 2022 as the public authorities hold significantly shares in Olma Messen: The city of St.Gallen currently has 26 percent, while the canton holds 9 percent. The press release states that a stock company would enable broad-based support from private individuals in future too. All interested parties can now register for share subscriptions without any obligation.
Changing the company’s legal form is one of the measures announced by the city, canton, banks, and Olma Messen itself to secure the firm’s future. This also includes an equity increase from a loan of 16.8 million Swiss francs. A capital increase of 20 million Swiss francs is anticipated from the conversion to a stock company. Director Christine Bolt commented on this: “The aim of 20 million Swiss francs is ambitious. We will do everything in our power to achieve this and are counting on those who wish to invest in a piece of Eastern Switzerland’s identity and joint experiences.”
Not least, the company must deal with extraordinary price rises involved in the construction of the new Halle 1, which is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2024. Investments are lining up across the board to proactively face the transformation of the trade fair and events industry, among other things by developing new sources of income outside of established business areas.
