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03.10.08 Blue Equity Emerges as Power Player in Sports & Entertainment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BLUE EQUITY EMERGES AS POWER PLAYER IN SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WITH LAUNCH OF 'BEST'Private Equity Firm Aggregates Properties to Form Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST) LOUISVILLE, KY (March 10, 2008): Blue Equity, LLC (www.blueequity.com) announced today their sports and entertainment properties will merge into a singular entity called BEST (Blue Entertainment Sports Television). As a unified full-service management and production company, BEST provides its clients and brands with cross-selling opportunities through experiential properties and a variety of sporting events, owns television rights to top events such as the US Open and guides the athletic and entertainment careers of top-notch talent such as Janet Jackson, Reggie Bush, Andy Roddick, Justine Henin, Rasheed Wallace and a plethora of others. BEST is a differentiator within the field as it has a strong backing by its parent private equity firm, Blue Equity. The entity is a product of many impacting acquisitions and deals closed over the past eighteen months including SFX Tennis, SFX Media & Events, Worldwide Football, Blackwave Sports, Team Championships International (TCI), Game Seven Sports Marketing, Management Group International and Humarks. The leaders and management of BEST share over 250 years of collective experience in industries ranging from tennis to football to entertainment. "We are proud to announce the formulation of 'BEST' within Blue Equity. It is the product of our hard work to attract both influential leaders and scalable properties within the sports and entertainment industries," says Jonathan Blue, Chairman and Managing Director of Blue Equity and Chairman of BEST. "With our diverse capabilities and offerings now housed under a single unit, we are positioning ourselves to be the preeminent entity for athlete and celebrity representation as well as branded content." "The rebranding of Blue Equity's sports and entertainment platform into BEST firmly establishes our identity and conveys a clear and compelling message," says Mike Principe, Chief Operating Officer of Blue Equity and Managing Director of BEST. "The collaborative efforts of our experienced and veteran management team mixed with a dynamic platform of sports properties and talent provides us the ability to deliver the highest levels of value and opportunity to our clients, the corporate community and the fans. As a unified entity, BEST now has all the tools to provide solutions and exceed expectations." With television rights to many of today's top sporting events, best in class event and television production capabilities and as the organizer of the world's largest participatory sports tours, BEST is able to efficiently reach audiences on both a local and national scale. Looking to be a power player beyond its domestic success, the firm has branched out internationally, expanding to Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Israel, Poland and Russia. www.experienceBEST.com
About BEST
BEST current clients include musicians Janet Jackson and Nick Carter, Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, NFL Pro Bowlers DeAngelo Hall and Will Smith, NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace, 2007 NBA Lottery picks Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer, Australian, French and US Open Champion Justine Henin, US Open Champion Andy Roddick, No. 1 doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, MMA star Houston Alexander, Minnesota basketball coach Tubby Smith, Louisville football coach Steve Kragthorpe and Ole Miss basketball coach Andy Kennedy. Clients signed for the 2008 NFL draft include Glenn Dorsey, Early Doucet, Andre' Woodson, Marcus Harrison, Josh Morgan and Chris Johnson. Media & Event properties include the US Open Tennis Championship, the French Open Tennis Championship, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, numerous US-based ATP tournaments, Rock 'n Racquets, Hoop It Up, Let It Fly, Kick It, the Boston Marathon, the Superstars Competition, the AVP Beach Volleyball tour, Ice Wars, the World Cup of Softball, The Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase, the Men's and Women's Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships and the Men's Ford Tennis Championship. www.experienceBEST.com
About Blue Equity
Blue Equity, LLC is an independent, private equity firm based in Louisville, Kentucky. It is committed to actively investing 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, and real estate. Blue Equity is dedicated to helping businesses grow by accelerating opportunity and driving innovation to the marketplace. www.blueequity.com
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