MP & Silva announced an agreement to create a strategic partnership with Everbright, a financial services company in China and Baofeng, an internet entertainment and technology company, specializing in Virtual Reality and digital entertainment, through an investment from Shanghai Jin Xin investment fund (Shanghai Jin Xin).
Shanghai Jin Xin, a company that Baofeng and Everbright established for the strategic partnership, has acquired a 65% equity investment in MP & Silva Group. All of the current MP & Silva shareholders will maintain a significant role in and investment of 35% in the Group after the transaction.
MP & Silva, which has 20 offices worldwide, recorded a turnover in excess of USD 600m for the year ending June 2015, and expects significant turnover growth for the current year. The company’s core business is the acquisition, management and distribution of media rights of national leagues, federations and clubs and some of the most prestigious sports events around the world. Since its formation in 2004, MP & Silva has grown to be one of the most significant players in the global sports rights industry, establishing its position as a globally diversified media company with leading position in fast-growing markets. The company has grown year-on-year and has built a strong rights portfolio, with particular strengths in international football and tennis and also extending to basketball, motorsport, handball and others.
Baofeng is a leading online entertainment company listed in China’s A-share market. Its current corporate strategy, called ‘Global Digital Technology Entertainment’, aims to create a global online entertainment ecosystem with more than 100 million daily active users and entertainment services and contents, as well as providing innovative business opportunities for customers.
As a company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the parent company of Hong Kong’s biggest securities company, Everbright Securities focuses on providing comprehensive financial services to clients, including brokerage, investment banking, private equity investment, asset management, futures and options, financial leasing and international business. In its 20 years of development, Everbright Securities has taken an active part in capital market both home and abroad, built a broad business network and is committed to be a top universal investment bank with international competitiveness.
This partnership will provide MP & Silva with additional financial resources to accelerate the growth of the business and build on over a decade of success. The new partners will bring expertise and experience that will help facilitate the development of the Group internationally, particularly in the rapidly growing and increasing important Chinese market. Additionally MP & Silva will have access to new and exciting technology, such as virtual reality and internet based services, that are transforming the delivery of sports events and content.
Baofeng Technology will develop a “Sports Channel” and multiple “Sports Apps”. The MP & Silva business will act as a platform to support “Baofeng Sports Operations.” Baofeng Sports will be operated as an independent company that will cooperate closely with MP & Silva.
The Shanghai Jin Xin investment fund values highly the management of MP & Silva and looks forward to supporting the team to achieve its strategic goals.
Larry Feng, CEO of Baofeng said: "Sports provide great long lasting content and experiences for online and offline audiences. Baofeng is seeking to work with the best global Sports players to enhance its service ecosystem. MP & Silva is a well-known player in the market and enjoys long-standing partnerships with some of the most important rights-holders and broadcasters and other content distributors. We are perfectly positioned to support the existing growth plans and help the management team achieve greater success. We are confident that, thanks to this partnership, MP & Silva will be able to strengthen its leadership position in the market and introduce new ground breaking innovations."
Xue Feng, CEO of Everbright Securities said:"First of all, we are highly excited about the investment in MP&Silva. It is an unforgettable experience. What’s more important, China owns billions of sports fans and its sports industry has been one of the "hottest" investments recently. We hope to seize the unprecedented opportunities brought by the rapid development of the sports industry in China together with our partners, Beijing Baofeng and MP&Silva. Last but not least, as an international company, we want do what we can to help MP&Silva achieve its globalization strategy."
MP & Silva Shareholders said: "Baofeng and Everbright will help us to develop our business and strengthen further our global footprint. We are excited at the opportunity to use our partners’ innovative technologies to enhance the delivery of some of the most popular sports events in the World and benefit from their presence in China to grow our presence in this key sports market. We will work together to create new internet sports services and content, and build new Virtual Reality experiences. We see a great potential thanks to the synergies of both companies and the expertise and knowledge of our new partners."
