Dentsu Inc. announced today that it has reached a basic agreement with Publicis Groupe SA, with which it has a financial and strategic alliance, to form and international sports marketing company in January 2003 to jointly carry out sports marketing activities on a global scale.
The new company is to be called iSe (International Sports and Entertainment). It plans to use the sports related content owned by Dentsu as a nucleus for the development of rights business, and will also develop new sports marketing rights, and carry out various operations and consulting activities pertaining to sports events. The new company will be capitalized at 10 million euros, with Dentsu and Publicis Groupe SA each contributing 45% and Sports Mondial Inc. the remaining 10%.
This new company will be the first joint enterprise to be undertaken by Dentsu and Publicis Groupe since the establishment of the alliance between them.
It will open the way for Dentsu to carry out sports marketing activities on a worldwide scale, and represents the full-scale entry of Publicis Groupe into the field of sports marketing. The two companies will also cooperate to promote the activities of the new company, for the global interest of their clients, with Dentsu contributing its comprehensive sports marketing business expertise, while Publicis Groupe SA will provide its network facilities that is has developed in Europe and the Americas.
iSe will be based in Switzerland. The management will be headed by Haruyuki Takahashi –Chairman–, Bertrand Siguier –Vice-Chairman–, and George Taylor –CEO–.
Joseph S. Blatter, President of FIFA, said ‘Dentsu has been working very closely with FIFA during the past years. Its co-operation with our marketing arm, FIFA Marketing AG, has been exemplary and has played a major role in assuring the commercial success of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/JapanTM. By joining forces with Publicis Groupe SA, Dentsu will now establish a sports marketing company, iSe, that will extend its expertise and experience to other sports and Federations. We wish iSe the best of success.’
Profile of the New Company iSe:
Company Name: iSe (International Sports and Entertainment)
To be Founded: January 2003
Head Office: Zurich, Switzerland
Chairman: Haruyuki Takahashi (Executive Officer, Dentsu Inc.)
Vice-Chairman: Bertrand Siguier (Member of the Executive Management Board Publicis Groupe SA, and Executive Vice-President Publicis Worldwide)
CEO: George Taylor (President, Sports Mondial Inc.)
Dentsu Inc.
Company Name: Dentsu Inc.
Founded: 1901
Head Office: Tokyo
President: Tateo Mataki
Number of Employees: 14,209 (as of September, 2002)
Overseas network: 59 subsidiaries in 18 countries (as of June 30, 2002)
Consolidated Gross Profit: 293.9 billion yen (Fiscal year ended March 2002)
Publicis Groupe SA
Company Name: Publicis Groupe SA
Founded: 1926
Head Office: Paris
Chaiman & CEO: Maurice Lévy
Number of Employees: 37,000
Number of Offices: 229 cities in 109 countries
Consolidated Revenues: 2.434 billion euros (Fiscal 2001) excl. Bcom3
Sports Mondial Inc.
Company Name: Sports Mondial Inc.
Founded: 1981
Head Office: New York
CEO: George Taylor
Main Business: Sports marketing and consulting for global sponsors