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SPORTFIVE will be up for sale
Germany - 19 July, 2006
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SPORTFIVE, the agency holding TV rights to the UEFA 2008 European championships, is up for sale, and an anticipated deal could be worth up to EUR 1 billion.
United States investor Advent has a controlling stake in SPORTFIVE, while broadcaster RTL owns 25 percent and SPORTFIVE's management 10 percent, with a small stake in the hands of U.S. bank Goldman Sachs, according to Rueters.
"SPORTFIVE's owners have decided to launch a sale process," a source involved in the deal explained. "Several potential investors have expressed their interest in SPORTFIVE in the past six months".
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will manage the purchase. Another source said the company was valued at up to EUR 1 billion. Advent bought a majority stake in SPORTFIVE for around EUR 560 million from RTL and French broadcaster Canal Plus.
The investor has abandoned an earlier option of an initial public offering (IPO) for SPORTFIVE since equity markets have become unpredictable.
"The climate for IPOs is not favourable, quite in contrast to the climate for acquisitions," one of the sources said.
Advent is optimistic about finding a buyer, given the euphoria over the World Cup, the sources said. Apart from the European TV rights for UEFA EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, the agency also boasts the rights to market the top football leagues in Italy and Spain and the home matches of the English national team.
In addition, SPORTFIVE has signed up two thirds of Europe's 56 national soccer federations, giving it the broadcasting rights to most European national teams' European championship and World Cup qualification matches.
SPORTFIVE already markets rights for more than 270 teams, among them seven out of 18 German Bundesliga clubs and top European names such as France 's Olympique Lyon and Italy's Lazio.
SPORTFIVE, which has offices in Hamburg and Paris, among other locations, posted sales of EUR 500 million in 2005, has turned a profit and has almost no debt.
United States investor Advent has a controlling stake in SPORTFIVE, while broadcaster RTL owns 25 percent and SPORTFIVE's management 10 percent, with a small stake in the hands of U.S. bank Goldman Sachs, according to Rueters.
"SPORTFIVE's owners have decided to launch a sale process," a source involved in the deal explained. "Several potential investors have expressed their interest in SPORTFIVE in the past six months".
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will manage the purchase. Another source said the company was valued at up to EUR 1 billion. Advent bought a majority stake in SPORTFIVE for around EUR 560 million from RTL and French broadcaster Canal Plus.
The investor has abandoned an earlier option of an initial public offering (IPO) for SPORTFIVE since equity markets have become unpredictable.
"The climate for IPOs is not favourable, quite in contrast to the climate for acquisitions," one of the sources said.
Advent is optimistic about finding a buyer, given the euphoria over the World Cup, the sources said. Apart from the European TV rights for UEFA EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, the agency also boasts the rights to market the top football leagues in Italy and Spain and the home matches of the English national team.
In addition, SPORTFIVE has signed up two thirds of Europe's 56 national soccer federations, giving it the broadcasting rights to most European national teams' European championship and World Cup qualification matches.
SPORTFIVE already markets rights for more than 270 teams, among them seven out of 18 German Bundesliga clubs and top European names such as France 's Olympique Lyon and Italy's Lazio.
SPORTFIVE, which has offices in Hamburg and Paris, among other locations, posted sales of EUR 500 million in 2005, has turned a profit and has almost no debt.
Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 -
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