Hig Capital Acquires 75% Stake In Lagardere

H.I.G Capital has finalised its acquisition of a majority stake in Lagardere Sports and Entertainment.

The French-based agency announced that it planned sell 75% to H.I.G in December 2019, in a deal which would value Lagardere at €110 million. The finalised deal now sees the Lagardere Group retain 24.9% of the agency.

H.I.G Capital currently manages €31bn of capital, says the agency will be rebranded following the completion of the sale, while Stefan Felsing – who left the agency two years ago, but who had held multiple leading management positions within Lagardere Sports and other predecessor companies for almost 20 years – will become its new CEO.

Christian Kraul-von Renner, Managing Director, H.I.G said: “The global sports marketing segment is a multibillion Euro industry with attractive long-term growth prospects fueled by the continuously increasing popularity of sports and the digitization of sports marketing services. H.I.G is looking forward to drive the business to the next level together with a truly global management team,” 

Stefan Felsing added: “I am looking forward to returning to a former place of work in the context of my new responsibilities. Lagardère Sports has enormous potential, particularly given the Company’s unique culture and the long-standing trusted partnership with its customers. Together with H.I.G, a strong and experienced investor, we are ideally positioned to continue building on these great assets. We are ready to leverage the full potential of the firm.”

Lagardere currently employs around 1,300 full-time employees and generates annual sales of more than €450 million.