Press releases

expansion of production business planned – On January 29, 2008 EM.Sport Media AG acquired a total of 905,000 shares, equating to a stake of ca. 15 percent, in WIGE MEDIA AG, Cologne. The shares were sold by securities trading bank Close Brothers Seydler AG. The stake in the TV and film production group, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, was acquired with a block discount. The purchase price is in the low single-digit million Euro range.

With its subsidiary PLAZAMEDIA – one of the leading full-service providers for TV and new media and Germany’s largest sports TV producer – EM.Sport Media AG already holds a market-leading position within the sports production sector. The shareholding in WIGE MEDIA AG, which, along with its partners, currently realizes over 200 high quality sporting, music, cultural and light entertainment events every year, is an ideal enlargement of the group’s existing production service portfolio both technically and in terms of content. WIGE MEDIA has been production partner with PLAZAMEDIA for many years.

Rainer Hüther, Board Member of EM.Sport Media AG: "The European production market is currently undergoing a phase of consolidation and EM.Sport Media is playing an active role in this process. Our specific objective is the expansion of our largest production area – outside production. In this field WIGE MEDIA, with its market leadership in the motorsport sector and its top level equipment and expertise in soccer is the perfect fit for the core competences of PLAZAMEDIA and its soccer focus."

About WIGE MEDIA AG:
WIGE MEDIA AG, based in Cologne, Germany, is an international full-service provider specializing in sports production, but also active in the entertainment sector, with subsidiaries in Germany, Monaco and South Africa, as well as alliance partners in Belgium and Italy servicing specific markets and customer segments. The production group provides services and solutions for TV and film productions that span the entire value chain. WIGE MEDIA Group business activities include outside broadcast, TV/film productions, post production, TV marketing, rental of the latest media technology, data and results services, event marketing and, not least, comprehensive media consultancy services. In 2006, the company achieved group sales of 37.0 million Euro.

About PLAZAMEDIA GmbH TV & Film Produktion:
PLAZAMEDIA is a group of leading companies in sports and media production. PLAZAMEDIA offers a unique service portfolio that spans the entire bandwidth from the outside production of global sporting events through to the conception of integrated communication programs. PLAZAMEDIA is an integral element of the EM.Sport Media AG value chain. It is platform and media neutral and has no direct TV station affiliation. As a provider of technical and creative services, and with its subsidiaries CREATION CLUB (CC) GmbH, PLAZAMEDIA Austria Ges.m.b.H. and MUC Media GmbH, PLAZAMEDIA presents itself as a full-service provider of turnkey solutions in outside and studio production, program management, post production, new media, design and promotion, format development, advertising and creative services.