Sep 14,2020
Beijing, China - The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and electronics company TCL have signed a new global partnership agreement for a further four years until 2023.
The deal was brokered by FIBA Marketing, the strategic partnership between FIBA and Infront, a Wanda Sports company. It follows a successful first cycle which saw TCL achieve broad exposure at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 hosted across eight cities last year in China.
As outlined in a recent press release from FIBA, the agreement grants TCL exclusivity in the categories of home appliances including TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners and is expanded to provide key commercial rights across all FIBA competitions. This includes the Men's and Women's Olympics Qualifying Tournaments, FIBA Continental Cups for both Men and Women, FIBA Youth World Cups, the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 and FIBA’s pinnacle event the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023.
Specific rights for these events include premium brand visibility on the court and presentation of the player of the game award ("TCL Player of the Game"), while TCL has also been granted the exclusive Presenting Sponsorship rights for the Asian Qualifiers for the Asia Cup 2021 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
Hengming Yang, President and CEO of Wanda Sports Group said: “We are excited to see that our marketing services and capabilities help build further/stronger connections between brands and sport federations. Our unmatched experience, deep knowledge and creative technologies, make us confident to continuously deliver value to the sporting value chain.”
Julien Ternisien, Infront Senior Vice President Summer Sports said: "TCL was a key contributor to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in terms of exposure but also fan engagement. This new and expanded agreement illustrates the high value that brands can derive from associating themselves with FIBA and its properties and I have every confidence TCL will once again be an integral cog in the basketball family."
About Wanda Sports Group
Wanda Sports Group is a leading global sports events, media and marketing platform with a mission to unite people in sports and enable athletes and fans to live their passions and dreams. Through its businesses, Infront and the Wanda Sports China, Wanda Sports Group has significant intellectual property rights, long-term relationships and broad execution capabilities, enabling it to deliver inspiring sports event experiences, creating access to engaging content and building inclusive communities. Wanda Sports Group offers a comprehensive array of events, marketing and media services through its three primary segments: Spectator Sports, Digital, Production, Sports Solutions (DPSS) and Mass Participation. Wanda Sport Group's full-service platform creates value for its partners and clients as well as other stakeholders in the sports ecosystem, from rights owners, to brands and advertisers, and to fans and athletes.
Headquartered in China, Wanda Sports Group has more than 53 offices in 16 countries with over 1,200 employees around the world. For more information, please visit http://investor.wsg.cn/investor-relations.
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.
