WPP and Hellman bid for Sportfive

A joint bid worth up to GBP 668 million for sports rights marketing agency Sportfive was allegedly made by advertising giant WPP and US private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman.

Sportfive, established in 2001 and owned by private-equity firm Advent, media group RTL and investment bank Goldman Sachs is a European leader in its field, handling marketing and TV rights for football Associatios and clubs, UEFA EURO 2008 and the Six Nations rugby tournament.

WPP's MediaPro and Hellman & Friedman are negotiating the deal, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Sportfive's plans to sell came out in July and the deal is thought to be managed by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Advent, Sportfive, Goldman Sachs and RTL, which is controlled by Bertelsmann, have not commented on the bid.

In 2004, Advent bought a majority stake in Sportfive from RTL and French broadcaster Canal Plus, which is part of Vivendi, for an estimated EUR 560 million.

Advent first considered an initial public offering for Sportfive despite instability in the equity markets. It was eager to ride the wave of excitement following the football World Cup.

The agency holds the rights to market the top soccer leagues including in Italy and Spain and has signed up two thirds of Europe's 56 national association, giving it broadcasting rights to most European national club's championship and World Cup qualification matches.

Sportfive markets rights for more than 270 football clubs, among them seven out of 18 German premier league clubs, and top European names such as Olympique Lyonnais and Lazio.

It had revenue of EUR 500 million in 2005.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.