A CHINESE investment group has bought a majority stake in Italian-owned MP & Silva (MPS), valuing the sports media rights firm at more than US$1 billion, the latest in a series of global sports related deals by investors from China.
Chinese brokerage Everbright Securities and Internet entertainment company Beijing Baofeng Technology bought a 65 percent stake in the business through an investment vehicle, MPS said in a statement yesterday.
Everbright said in a statement yesterday that MPS was valued at more than US$1 billion.
The acquisition, which adds to a growing stable of Chinese-owned soccer assets worldwide, will help MPS target the fast-growing China sports market, which China is hoping will be worth over 5 trillion yuan (US$762 billion) by 2025.
“China has the most sports fans in the world and the sports market here is now one of the hottest investment sectors,” Everbright chief executive Xue Feng said in the statement.
MPS chief executive Marco Auletta said the stake sale process had seen high demand from international investors.
“Everbright and Baofeng have emerged as the right partners to support our international growth and help us expand in adjacent fields such as virtual reality, where Baofeng is a key player in China,” he said.
A source had earlier said that Everbright and Baofeng were to take a stake of about 60 percent in MPS.
Headquartered in London and Singapore with an annual turnover of US$600 million, MPS distributes media rights for a series of sports federations and clubs, including Italy’s top-flight Serie A soccer league.
The deal is expected to give MPS, founded in 2004, additional firepower to expand internationally, especially in the rapidly growing Chinese market.
“We are confident that, thanks to this partnership, MP & Silva will be able to strengthen its leadership position in the market and introduce new ground-breaking innovations,” Baofeng CEO Larry Feng said.
Baofeng, which lists shares in Shenzhen, plans to develop a sports channel and a series of sports apps.
(SD-Agencies)
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