Tampa Bay, Fla.-based triathlon operator Ironman is "invading the market for bike races," and Thursday announced the acquisition of the endurance-athletics arm of Lagardère Sports & Entertainment, according to Kevin Helliker of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The Hamburg-based division operates "about 20 endurance-athletics events, including six cycling races." Ironman has "never before run strictly cycling races." The purchase from Paris-based Lagardère Sports & Entertainment will "represent the largest acquisition ever for Ironman," which now "holds more than 250 events a year around the globe." Terms were not disclosed. Last August, longtime Ironman owner Providence Equity Partners "sold it to China’s Dalian Wanda Group, which has charged the unit with pursuing even-faster-paced growth." Besides cycling events, the endurance-athletics arm "owns and runs marathons, triathlons and other multi-discipline events in eight countries on three continents." Ironman said that the events are "expected to serve about 140,000 participants this year." Lagardère Unlimited Global CEO for Endurance & Mass Participation Christian Toetzke will now "join Ironman as its Hamburg-based chief development officer and global head of cycling." He said that Lagardère S&E had "been seeking a buyer for its endurance-athletics unit." The unit has "developed more lucrative media rights than has Ironman, in part because Europeans are more inclined than Americans to watch endurance sports on television, but also because Toetzke designed multiple-loop courses that make the events easier for spectators to watch on site and at home" (WSJ, 1/21).
