Feb 29,2020
Extraordinary General Assembly ratifies appointment of Infront for wider scope of events
Vienna, Austria – Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company, and the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) will continue their partnership for another 12 years after the appointment was ratified by delegates at the Extraordinary General Assembly in Vienna, Austria on Saturday.
The new agreement – which was initially announced in December 2019 after approval by the CEV Board of Administration – will run from 2020 until 2032. For the first time the media rights for all CEV events across all three disciplines will be distributed by Infront as CEV's exclusive partner.
The scope covers all national men's and women's volleyball events including the EuroVolley, European Volleyball Leagues and Olympic Qualification as well as the club competitions CEV Champions League, CEV Cup and CEV Challenge Cup. It also includes the CEV European Championships in Beach Volleyball and Snow Volleyball as well as all CEV-run continental events in both disciplines as of 1 July 2020.
Over the 12-year period it foresees guaranteed payments and the provision of comprehensive media, production and digital services by Infront in the value of over EUR 100 million.
Philippe Blatter, Infront President and CEO said: "Infront has been a dedicated and reliable partner of the CEV for more than two decades and in that time both the Volleyball and Beach Volleyball European Championships have seen exponential growth in TV audience. This new and unique partnership will allow Infront and CEV to further develop volleyball, beach volleyball and snow volleyball together through innovation, increased audiences and improved production while enjoying access to financial security on a long-term basis."
Aleksandar Boričić, CEV President said: "This is a milestone agreement for the CEV and the whole European Volleyball family which clearly indicates our strong ambition to further invest into the growth of our sport in Europe. Infront has been a trustful partner of the CEV for the last 27 years and this new agreement will bring us even closer together and I look forward to jointly taking our sport to new heights across all disciplines. I am happy that the members of our Volleyball family understood the importance and benefits of this agreement, which clearly is in the best interest of all parties – and lays the foundation for a bright future for our sport.”
About the European Volleyball Confederation
The European Volleyball Confederation or Confédération Européenne de Volleyball (CEV) is the FIVB supporting institution responsible for governing 56 National Federations throughout Europe and is recognised as such by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The CEV has the authority and responsibility for organising all European competitions in Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Snow Volleyball. The CEV headquarters are located in Luxembourg City (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg). For further information, visit www.cev.eu.
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.
