17 February 2003, Zug, Switzerland: The Infront Sports & Media Group has announced that the transition from the former KirchSport to Infront is now complete and the official changeover to the new corporate name – Infront Sports & Media AG – takes place today.
This signifies that the transaction for the management-supported buyout by a group of shareholders led by Robert Louis-Dreyfus, former head of adidas, and JACOBS AG, is now complete and the new ownership group is in place.
The company also has a new logo, different from the one used last November, when the new ownership was initially announced. This new logo is accompanied by a new corporate identity and better reflects plans for the future of the company as a full-service agency providing sophisticated, specialised services for clients in the world of sport.
The majority shareholders of the company are now Mr Robert Louis-Dreyfus and JACOBS AG, with minority stakes held by Overlook Management B.V., Martin Steinmeyer and the Infront management team.
Exclusively responsible for the successful marketing of the worldwide broadcast rights to the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, the biggest sports property in the world in commercial terms, Infront (as KirchSport) also handled all television production of the event in Korea/Japan through its subsidiary, Host Broadcast Services (HBS).
Properties now managed by the new Infront include the 2006 FIFA World Cup™; the German football Bundesliga, IIHF World Championship in ice hockey; European Handball Championship and the German Football Association (DFB), as well as many European national football associations and clubs.
Infront’s management paid tribute to the patience and loyalty of its business partners following the collapse of its parent company KirchMedia, almost a year ago. ‘We have managed to achieve a highly successful outcome and promising new start from an extremely difficult situation and we could not have done this without the steadfast support of our clients, some of whom have been working with us for more than 20 years, said Infront CEO Oscar Frei.
For further information, please contact:
Infront Sports & Media AG
John Kristick
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
info@infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com