Bridgepoint sells Infront to Wanda for €1.05bn

The deal value is understood to amount to 11.9x EBITDA. Bridgepoint is also said to have generated a 2.5x money and 37% IRR on the sale.

The senior management team, including president and CEO Philippe Blatter, will remain in place following the transaction. Wanda and Infront have agreed a long-term strategic plan until 2020.

Wanda recently acquired a 20% stake in Spanish football club Atlético de Madrid. This follows the club's contributions to China's Future Star Program over several years. The Wanda Group has assets worth $86.8bn, with an annual income of $39.4bn.

Previous funding
Bridgepoint acquired Infront from private shareholders for an estimated €580m in September 2011. At the time, the buyout house was said to have faced competition from the Qatar Investment Authority.

The private equity house is understood to have increased Infront's number of events days from 3,300 in 2011 to 4,000 in 2014. Profits in the last three years have increased by more than 50%.

Company
Infront is a sports marketing company covering both winter and summer sporting events. This includes the distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production and event operation. It has partnerships with 160 rights-holders, as well as a number of sponsors and media companies.

Headquartered in Zug, Infront has offices in a further 12 countries. It generated revenues of €800m in 2014, up from €600m in 2011. It has 600 employees.

In football, Infront is a partner to FIFA, the German and Italian Football Federations, football clubs such as AC Milan, SV Werder Bremen and FC Köln. Infront represents all seven Olympic winter sports federations, including the International Ski Federation. It also works with the World Marathon Majors and the Ironman endurance events.

People
Wang Jianlin is chairman of Wanda Group. Philippe Blatter is Infront's president and CEO. Xavier Robert is a Paris-based partner at Bridgepoint.

Advisers
Equity - Shankai Sports (Commercial due diligence); PwC (Financial and tax due diligence); Reed Smith (Legal).
Vendor - Lazard (Corporate finance); KPMG (Financial and tax due diligence); Latham & Watkins (Legal); Niederer Kraft & Freyand (Legal); Clifford Chance (Legal).
Management - Blättchen & Partner (Corporate finance); Homburger (Legal).

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