MCH MESSE SCHWEIZ BUYS STAKE IN DESIGN MIAMI; 2008 TED PRIZE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

MCH Messe Schweiz Holding AG, Switzerland’s largest organizer of trade fairs, said it’s buying 50 percent of Design Miami Basel, which runs a design show in Miami and Basel. Bloomberg reports that MCH Messe Schweiz is also buying 10 percent of Design Miami II, the company that organizes Design Miami. Financial details weren’t disclosed.

In other news, on Wednesday the annual design-innovation conference TED (Technology, Education, Design) announced the winners of its 2008 TED Prizes. Cosmologist and education activist Neil Turok, author and philanthropist Dave Eggers, and authority on comparative religions Karen Armstrong will each receive one hundred thousand dollars and will have the opportunity to make public a “wish” at the 2008 conference. “We ask our winners to think big and to be creative. The goal is to create an incredible sense of excitement and common purpose. It inspires the TED community, and all those who hear about the wish, to offer their help in making the wish come true.”