Lagardere beats WPP Group to snap up Sportfive

by Sarah Woods, Brand Republic 23-Nov-06, 14:00

LONDON - Lagardere SCA Group has acquired European football marketing and media rights company Sportfive for €865m (£585m).

The acquisition follows a bidding process that also involved WPP Group-owned Mediapro working with Hellman & Friedman.

The deal is Lagardere's first move into the international sports rights trading and agency market. It is in line with the group's long-term strategy of increasing its presence in exclusive-access media content.

As part of the deal, Sportfive, which acts as a partner to sporting bodies and clubs to extract maximum value from their media and marketing rights, will benefit from the support of Lagardere's international media-buying activities.

At present, Sportfive is involved primarily in football, with a rights portfolio including over 250 clubs, 50 of Europe's principal football federations and leagues and media rights for prestigious international football tournaments like Euro 2008 and the African Cup of Nations.

The firm operates across five continents and has a network of 11 offices. It is forecasting revenues of €526m for this year.

Principal shareholders of Sportfive are Advent International, Goldman Sachs, Capital Partners and RTL Group.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum.