Lagardere Unlimited has entered the MLB and golf player representation business, announcing yesterday that it acquired Gaylord Sports Management, whose clients include four-time major champion Phil Mickelson and Braves 2B Dan Uggla. Gaylord President Steve Loy, who founded the Scottsdale-based agency in ‘00, has been named Lagardere Unlimited Golf President and will report to Lagardere COO Kevin O’Connor. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Lagardere Unlimited is a division of French conglomerate the Lagardere Group and was launched when it acquired the former Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST) in ‘10. “For our first domestic acquisition since BEST almost two years ago, we were looking for a strong company which would complement the assets we already have in place,” O’Connor said in a statement. “The addition of Gaylord Sports Management immediately ranks us among the leaders in professional golf representation and gives us an important footprint in baseball as we continue to grow.” Gaylord was founded as a golf player representation practice, but expanded into golf course design and the representation of MLB players, as well as athletes in other sports, in the last several years. In addition to Mickelson, Gaylord represents golfers Nick Watney, Keegan Bradley, Anna Nordqvist and Angela Stafford. Other clients include former U.S. national softball team P Jennie Finch and Coyotes RW Shane Doan. “Our players now have an international marketing platform and we help round out Lagardere’s lineup with golf and baseball,” Loy said in a statement.
