Media rights firm MP & Silva, whose partners include the NFL, F1 and the EPL, has "agreed to sell a controlling stake to a group led by Beijing Baofeng Technology," according to a source cited by Soshnick & Novy-Williams of BLOOMBERG NEWS. The source said that the deal "values the company" at $1.4B, though details of the portion sold "weren't disclosed." The sale is the "latest Chinese bet on the global growth of professional sports." MP & Silva is an "established middelman; its primary business is negotiating teams' and leagues' broadcast right around the world." The firm last year "sold the NFL's broadcast rights across Europe" through '19. Some of the company’s other sports partners include Serie A, Bundesliga, the French Open and MLB’s World Baseball Classic, while its TV clients include ESPN and Fox Sports (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/23). VARIETY's Patrick Frater noted MP & Silva also has deals in basketball, motorsports and handball, and "operates in 20 territories." The company had revenues of $600M "in the year to June last year and has forecast significant growth in the current financial period" (VARIETY.com, 5/24).
TIME FOR GROWTH: The FINANCIAL TIMES' Massoudi & Mitchell cited sources as saying that financial services company China Everbright and Baofeng will "acquire a stake of more than" 60% in MP & Silva. The latest deal follows the $1.2B "takeover of one of MP & Silva’s main rivals, Infront Sports & Media, another sports rights distributor, by Dalian Wanda." Everbright and Baofeng are "expected to announce plans to retain MP & Silva’s management team," including CEO Marco Auletta, "who also owns a small equity stake" (FT.com, 5/24). REUTERS' Pollina & Jourdan noted UBS "advised MP & Silva on the deal," while China Int'l Capital Corporation and online deals platform DealGlobe "worked with Everbright and Baofeng." The deal is expected to give MP & Silva, founded in '04, "additional firepower to expand internationally, especially in the rapidly growing Chinese market." Baofeng plans to develop a "sports channel and a series of sports apps." Meanwhile, MP & Silva said that its other shareholders, with a combined 35% holding, would "maintain a significant role in the group" (REUTERS, 5/24).
