Lagardère Sports and Entertainment
Lagardère Sports and Entertainment S.A.S.U. is a sports and entertainment agency subsidiary of Lagardère Group. The subsidiary was formed by the merger of several brands under the group, including Sportfive; World Sport Group; IEC in Sports; Sports Marketing and Management; and Lagardère Unlimited Inc.[3]
Formerly | Lagardère Unlimited[1] |
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Type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Sports Marketing |
Predecessor | Sportfive (2001-2015) |
Successor | Sportfive (replacing Lagardère Sports only, from 2020) |
Headquarters | , France |
Key people | Ugo Valensi (CEO)[2] |
Services |
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Owner |
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Number of employees | 1,600 (2018) |
Divisions |
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History
In 2007, Lagardère Group, via an intermediate holding company Lagardère Sports,[4] acquired the entire share capital of International Events and Communication in Sports (IEC in Sports)[5] and in 2008 acquired about 70% of the stake of World Sport Group Holdings.[6] Lagardère Group also owned Sportfive S.A.[4] since 2006.[7][8] In 2010, Lagardère Sports became Lagardère Unlimited.[9][10]
In 2015 Lagardère Unlimited was renamed Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, and the entertainment subdivision was renamed from "Lagardère Unlimited Live Entertainment" to "Lagardère Live Entertainment". All the sports agencies previously under Lagardère Unlimited were renamed to use the brand "Lagardère Sports".[3]
In 2015 Lagardère Live Entertainment acquired société d'exploitation du Bataclan, the organization that operates the Bataclan Theater, one of the sites of the November 2015 Paris attacks.[11]
On 19 January 2016 Lagardère Sports signed a partnership agreement with brand communications firm Sponsorship 360.[12]
On 8 August 2016 Lagardère Sports acquired New York City-based brand communications firm Rooftop2 Productions.[13]
On 1 June 2017, it was announced that Lagardère Sports had sold the naming rights of Juventus Stadium to Allianz for 2017–18 to 2022–23 seasons.[14][15] Lagardère Sports' predecessor Sportfive purchased the naming rights (and other concession) in 2008 for €75 million and was due to start in 2011–12 season.
Lagardère Sports Asia
Lagardère Sports Asia, formerly known as World Sport Group, was acquired by Lagardère in 2008 and renamed (and reorganized its subsidiary structure) in 2015. World Sport Group angered many Asian football fans by increasing the price of the broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2014 (Asia Region), meaning home fans in South Korea could not watch their international team. Also expatriate Iranian fans could not watch the match in Europe or the Americas.[16][17][18]
The company also formed a joint venture with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the AFC Asian Cup in 2011.[19] It also runs a media channel for the AFC.[20]
References
- "2015 Reference Document" (PDF). Lagardère Group. 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190626005567/en/Lagardère-SCA-Appointment
- "Lagardère Unlimited rebrands to Lagardère Sports and Entertainment". Lagardère Group. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- "2007 Reference Document" (PDF). Lagardère Group. 17 April 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- "Lagardère : agreement to acquire IEC". Lagardère Group. 11 June 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- "Is FAS playing a dangerous game with World Sport Group?". theonlinecitizen.com. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- "Advent International agrees to sell Sportfive to Lagardère". Adventinternational.com. 20 November 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- "Agreement to acquire Sportfive". Lagardère Group. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- "Lagardère Sports becomes Lagardère Unlimited". Lagardère Group. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- "2011 Reference Document" (PDF). Lagardère Group. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- "Lagardère Live Entertainment annonce l'acquisition de la société d'exploitation du Bataclan" (in French). Lagardère Group. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- "Lagardère Sports welcomes Sponsorship 360 on board". Lagardère Group. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- "Lagardère Sports acquires Rooftop2 Productions". Lagardère Group. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- "Call it Allianz Stadium". Juventus F.C. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- "Allianz signs naming rights agreement with Juventus Football Club for Turin stadium". Allianz. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- World Sport Group Accused of Rules Breach. Persianfootball.com. Retrieved on 2013-12-23. Archived 2012-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
- IRIB and World Sport Group at loggerhead over the price of Broadcasting Rights. TeamMelli (2012-09-24). Retrieved on 2013-12-23.
- World Sport Group Accused of Rules Breach. Kabir News. Retrieved on 2013-12-23.
- "Australia promises best Asian Cup". Asian Football Confederation. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- "Revamped AFC Media Channel launched". Asian Football Confederation. 5 December 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2017.