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08.21.06 Blue Equity Announces SFX Acquisitions from Live Nation BLUE EQUITY ANNOUNCES SFX ACQUISITIONS FROM LIVE NATION Louisville, KY, August 21, 2006 - Blue Equity, LLC announced today that it has acquired, through an affiliate, three divisions of the SFX Sports Group from parent Live Nation by purchasing the tennis representation, sports media & live sporting events platforms from the world's leading live entertainment company. Key executives from SFX have joined with Blue Equity and bring a substantial base of clients, events and media properties. SFX tennis clients and ATP and WTA stars represented include US Open Champion Andy Roddick, Australian, French and US Open Champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, Olympic Gold Medalists Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu, Mardy Fish, Paradorn Srichaphan, Jose Acasuso, Igor Andreev, Juan Ignacio Chela, the ATP No. 1 ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan, Shahar Peer, Vera Zvonareva, as well as phenoms Sam Querrey, Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki. The media and live events properties include the US Open Tennis Championship, the French Open Tennis Championship, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, numerous US-based ATP tournaments, the Boston Marathon, the Superstars Competition, the AVP Beach Volleyball tour, Ice Wars and Rock 'n Racquets. The tennis representation business will continue operating as SFX Tennis and the sports media and live sports events platforms will operate as SFX Media & Events. Donald Dell, a leading figure across the entire landscape of sports marketing, television and representation since he founded ProServ in 1970, joins Blue Equity as part of this acquisition. A fixture in worldwide tennis since his days as a tour player and US Davis Cup Captain, Dell will serve as Group President across the three platforms and bring his expertise to all areas of the business. Kenneth Meyerson, with over 19 years of international experience in representing athletes and Grand Slam winners on the ATP and WTA Tours, also joins Blue Equity and will continue as President of the Tennis Group. Longtime SFX executives Dennis Spencer, SFX Sr. Vice President and Managing Director, will become Executive Vice President of the Media Group and SFX Vice President and Tournament Director Jeff Newman will become Senior Vice President, Events. "I am ecstatic to be joining with Blue Equity and its Chairman Jonathan Blue in this exciting new venture," said Dell. "We have had the opportunity to go in many different directions over the past six months and I have been so impressed with the professionalism, enthusiasm and passion of Jonathan and his entire team that I know this is the perfect home for us and that we will be able to accomplish great things together." "I could not be more excited about these transactions and the prospects that lie ahead. To have a partner that shares my vision, zeal and commitment to winning is extremely exciting," said Meyerson. "To have the resources of a large private equity firm behind us offers many unique advantages as we grow the business," said Spencer. "Jonathan brings a competitive fire that is very contagious and I am looking forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship together." SFX Sports was originally purchased by radio giant Clear Channel Communications in its acquisition of SFX Entertainment for $4.5 billion in 2000. Clear Channel Entertainment, the live-concert division of Clear Channel Communications, has since spun off into Live Nation, a separately traded company. Simultaneously, Blue Equity also announced that it has acquired the NBA and NFL player representation practice of veteran agent and former IMG President of Basketball, Bill Strickland. Strickland was the first African-American agent to be named by The Sporting News to its list of the "100 Most Powerful People in Sports." He has also been recognized by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the "50 Most Powerful African-Americans in Sports" and remains one of the top African American lawyers in the nation. Expressing his enthusiasm in the wake of the acquisition, Strickland said "I had the opportunity to remain on my own, however, being a part of a first class organization with significant resources and a large private equity platform offers us unique business advantages and opportunities rarely seen elsewhere in the athlete representation business. Also, having worked for over eight years with Dell at ProServ, I am well aware of his capabilities and prominence with the sports and media industries. Jonathan Blue, has an intense passion to compete in business and has now begun to focus on the sports and entertainment field and has the resources and drive to be on the cutting edge of this business. What he has been able to do in other areas of business, and the platform he has built, makes him the ideal partner for my clients and me." An impressive roster of NBA and NFL clients will join Strickland in the move to Blue Equity, including two-time NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace, Brevin Knight, Malik Allen, and professional football players Madieu Williams and Leroy Hill, among others. Strickland's team of agents and staff will also join him at Blue Equity. Blue Equity, LLC is an independent, private equity firm based in Louisville, Kentucky. It is committed to actively investing both growth capital and business expertise in enterprises with solid development potential. Blue Equity forms strategic partnerships with existing management teams and leverages its expertise and relationships to stabilize, strengthen and grow lasting value. Investment efforts and managerial expertise are focused on the operation of a global and diversified portfolio of business enterprises, including opportunities in media, publishing, sports and entertainment, financial services, real estate and international trade. Blue Equity is dedicated to helping businesses grow by accelerating opportunity and driving innovation to the marketplace. www.blueequity.com. Live Nation is a leading live event, venue and digital distribution company focused on creating superior experiences for artists, performers, corporations and fans. Live Nation owns, operates and/or has booking rights for 153 venues worldwide and produced more than 29,500 events in 2005. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." www.livenation.com.
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