Dec 12,2019
New five-year prolongation of media and marketing partnership to run until 2027/28 season
Zug, Switzerland – Infront has been appointed as the Champions Hockey League's (CHL) exclusive media and marketing partner after the decision was ratified by the 33 CHL shareholders (26 clubs, six leagues and the IIHF) at their extraordinary General Assembly Meeting, in Cham, Switzerland, on Thursday.
The new agreement covers a period of five years from 2023/24 onwards and includes media and marketing rights, overall venue management, digital services and management of broadcast production.
The partnership allows CHL and Infront to continue its long-term development of the tournament building on a foundation which has stimulated consistent growth since the competition's launch in 2014/15.
Peter Zahner, CHL President, said: “Signing another five-year extension is a very strong message for fans and media – it first of all shows that Infront strongly believes in our product, but it also demonstrates the big commitment of all our shareholders and partners who will continue to work hard on establishing the CHL as Europe’s greatest hockey competition. The prolongation gives us long-term stability to develop a premium fan experience and club ice hockey in Europe in general."
Bruno Marty, Senior Vice President ProSports at Infront, said: “This agreement confirms our leading position on the global ice hockey stage as the premier source for premium rights and properties. Infront has been part of the CHL's DNA from the start and its continued growth is something we aim to build on through this new agreement. We have a shared vision on what could be achieved over the next few years and look forward to delivering pan-European hockey to a broader audience.”
About the Champions Hockey League
The league is fully owned and operated by Champions Hockey League AG/Ltd which includes, as its shareholders, 26 European clubs, six National Leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Shareholder Leagues are from: Austria (EBEL), Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The best teams from the Challenger Leagues (Belarus, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Norway, Poland and Slovakia) are extended Wild Cards. The 2019/20 season includes 32 teams from 13 leagues who battle in 125 games from August to February to be crowned Europe’s club champions. The CHL season culminates in a one-game Final showdown to be played on 4 February 2020.
BEIJING, March 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wanda Sports Group Company Limited (NASDAQ: WSG) (the “Company”) today announced that the Company signed a $240 million senior term loan facility agreement with Credit Suisse AG, Singapore Branch, enabling the Company to refinance and prepay its existing senior 364-day term loan facility, dated March 15, 2019.
Mr. Hengming Yang, President and CEO of Wanda Sports Group said, “We are very pleased with the new credit facility. The successful refinancing demonstrates continued confidence in our business and operations, despite the global challenges and uncertainties resulting from COVID-19. We will continue to work diligently on behalf of our partners, athletes, fans and shareholders.”
Mr. Brian Liao, Global CFO of Wanda Sports Group said, “As always, we are committed to lowering our costs, monitoring our use of cash, and balancing our investments with disciplined management of our existing financial resources to optimize shareholder returns. The new facility provides the Company with additional financial flexibility, while allowing it to take advantage of the current favorable interest rate environment to lower interest costs.”
The term of the new facility is 364 days. The pricing will initially be LIBOR plus an applicable margin, and the term is subject to certain mandatory prepayment terms. These and the other principal terms of the new facility are outlined further in a Form 6-K (Report of Foreign Private Issuer) submitted today to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “potential,” “plan,” “goal” and similar statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this press release. The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, other than as required by law.
