Lagadère Reportedly Selling 75% Of Sports Agency And Release Statement On CAF Ruling

Lagadère Sports are reportedly to sell 75% of their sports agency for a fee reported to be in the region of €110 million.

The company today announced that it has received a bid from H.I.G. Capital, but said that the value “does not include the future value creation potential of the Group’s residual 25-per-cent interest in Lagardère Sports, or any potential gains from the Confederation of African Football agreement.”

Lagadère have also released a statement following the International Chamber of Commerce’s first ruling on their current dispute with the Confederation of African Football this past Friday.

CAF decided to permanently end their billion-dollar agreement nine years before its planned conclusion, which had seen the agency cover CAF’s media and sponsorship sales rights globally until 2028, and Lagadère are continuing to fight the decision.

The statement reads:

“Following the decision by CAF to unilaterally cancel its agency agreement with Lagardère Sports, Lagardère, in accordance with the contractual provisions, initiated emergency arbitration proceedings – aimed at keeping the contract in force pending the arbitration on merits – before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Geneva. 

On December 13th, while the emergency arbitrator rejected these interim measures, he did not rule on the merits of the case as this was not within his remits. Consequently, the outcome of the emergency proceedings does not in any way predetermine the outcome of any future arbitration on the merits of the case. 

Under these conditions, Lagardère will steadfastly continue as planned to proceed with the broader, more encompassing arbitration (arbitration on merits) to obtain compensation from CAF. 

Lagardère Sports is an established, respected company that has served CAF for many years with efficiency, loyalty and dedication, working collaboratively to grow African football and bringing the games to thousands of new fans each year. As such, the Lagardère group deems the actions of CAF to be unwarranted and will take all action at its disposal to defend its interests, mitigate the impact of any immediate harm to its business and protect the interests of its shareholders.”