Tattersalls buys into Inglis

The Newmarket, England-based auction house Tattersalls has privately purchased a minority stake in Australia's William Inglis and Son sale company.

The companies did not disclose the price or the percentage of the Tattersalls share, calling it "a significant minority stake" in a joint announcement. The two companies would continue to operate autonomously but would join forces in market development.

Inglis is one of Australia's two major auction houses, the other being Magic Millions, and is perhaps best known as host of the Australian Easter yearling sale. Tattersalls, founded in 1766, is the world's oldest bloodstock auctioneer and is Europe's largest, selling about 10,000 horses at 15 sales in England and Ireland each year.

The chairman of Tattersalls, Edmond Mahony, said the acquisition was influenced in part by "the Inglis exposure to the growing markets throughout Asia."

Both auction houses enjoyed banner seasons in 2007, with Tattersalls grossing a record of about $503,872,282 and Inglis also achieving a record gross of about $235,795,628.