Chinese Wanda Group buys Infront

The existing management under the leadership of Philippe Blatter will remain unchanged, as Infront, based in the tax-friendly city of Zug, announced on Tuesday. Philippe Blatter is a nephew of the controversial president of the world football association Fifa, Sepp Blatter. The top management also includes sports commentator and former professional footballer Günther Netzer. When asked by the news agency SDA, Infront spokesman Jörg Polzer said that there would be no changes in the operational area. According to a statement, Dalian Wanda will hold 68.2 percent of the Infront shares in future. Three other unnamed investors will take over the remainder, as the Reuters news agency learned from circles within the Chinese group. Dalian Wanda is China's largest real estate group and owns the country's largest cinema chain.

Infusion for expansion wanted

Last September, it was announced that the Swiss company Infront was looking for a new owner after three years in order to raise fresh money for its expansion strategy. The financial investor Bridgepoint bought Infront over three years ago, with the price estimated in financial circles at a good 550 million euros at the time. "We are confident that we can support Infront in its goal of becoming the number 1 in global sports marketing," Wang Jianlin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Wanda Group, is quoted as saying in the press release. With the purchase, Jianlin, one of the richest Chinese, hopes to further develop Chinese sport and raise its profile worldwide.

Infront was bought out of Leo Kirch's crumbling empire in 2002. Prior to the takeover by Bridgepoint, the coffee dynasty heir Andreas Jacobs had held the majority of the shares. Initially, Infront had lived primarily from the sale of the rights to major tournaments of the world football association to television broadcasters. However, the company has since broadened its spectrum, for example to include World Cup competitions in six winter sports and motorsport racing series. It also markets the television rights of the German and Italian football associations and the clubs Werder Bremen, 1. FC Köln, AC Milan and Inter Milan. Last year, Infront achieved a turnover of 800 million euros.

Dalian Wanda on course for overseas expansion

The takeover by Dalian Wanda comes at a time of aggressive overseas expansion for the Chinese group, which is diversifying with a series of acquisitions. The conglomerate has announced three major investments outside of China since the beginning of the year. In Europe, the acquisition of the Madrid landmark Edificio España made headlines last June. The 117-meter-high building in the Spanish capital was acquired by a Dalian subsidiary. In January, the group acquired shares worth 45 million euros in the Spanish football club Atletico Madrid. With its expansion policy, the Chinese want to increase turnover to 163 billion dollars in five years. (hae/SDA)