Lagardere Sports acquires the Catella Swedish Open (ATP Bastad Tournament)

Lagardère Sports announces today the signing of an agreement to acquire 100% of PR Event i Sverige, Swedish company specialized since 2000 in the organization of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Bastad tournament and owner of the ATP licence purchased in 2004 from the Swedish Tennis Federation.

The Swedish Open is a men’s ATP Tour tournament which takes place evry year in July on the Bastad clay tennis courts. This tournament is classified “International Series”.
After Bournemouth, Paris and Wimbledon, the Swedish Open is the 4th oldest tournament in the world and one of the most valuated by the ATP Tour players.

This new acquisition reinforces the presence of Lagardere Sports in the sphere of tennis and ATP tournaments and lies is part of a long-term strategy of development of the Group in the sport events ownership.

Lagardere Sports has already a strong position in the ownership of events, in particular the Moselle Tennis Open – an ATP Tournament created in 2003 to replace the Toulouse Open which stopped in September 2001. Lagardère Sports has a leading position also in international sport events management specially since the acquisition if the German company Upsolut (December 2007) in charge of the organization of the German cycling Tour and the Hamburg Triathlon.
Lagardère Sports is as well as leader in motor sports thanks to the launching this summer of the Transorientale, the largest rally-raid in the world between St Petersburg and Beijing via Astana (Kazakhstan).

On the occasion of this signing, Olivier Guiguet, Chairman and CEO of Lagardere Sports declared: “After the acquisition of Upsolut and the creation of the Transorientale, Lagardere Sports is proud to join with the Swedish Open, thanks to the acquisition of PR Event.

PR Event allows Lagardère Sports to go on with its development in sports events ownership organization and management, nationally and internationally.”

About Lagardere Sports

Lagardere Sports is one of the 4 business units of the Lagardere Group, specialized in the sports marketing.
Created in 2006 from the acquisition of Sportfive, Lagardere Sports expanded by combining organic growth and targeted acquisitions. The Group which employs today more than 610 employees in the world is present on 3 principal trades:

• Media: broadcast, TV rights and new media
• Marketing: sponsorship, hospitality and “stadium consulting” 
• Sporting events: events management and events ownership
  

In 2007 Lagardere Sports has enlarged its dominant market position and perception significantly through realizing outstanding deals in 2007: the renewal of the Olympic Lyonnais contract, the renewal of the broadcast rights of the African Nation Cup, and the “renaming” of the Hamburg Stadium.
In 2007, Lagardere Sports had a turnover of more than 440 million euros.