RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil's billionaire entrepreneur Eike Batista on Friday announced the acquisition of Brasil1 Sports& Entertainment to turn his IMX joint venture into one of the country's top companies in the field.
The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
Founded in November, MX is a 50/50 joint venture between Batista's EBX Group and the US IMG Worldwide, a global sports, fashion and media business operating in 30 countries.
"Brazil is experiencing a unique moment with the World Cup and Olympics and Paralympic Games, and other opportunities that will come," Batista, Brazil's richest man, told a Rio press conference with Mike Dolan, IMG's chairman and chief executive.
"I'm proud to invest in sports and entertainment, areas that encourage education, self-esteem, jobs and talents," Batista added.
"The 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics and Paralympic Games in Brazil will provide us great opportunities for growth and the acquisition of Brasil1 is the starting point," Dolan noted.
IMG Worldwide creates, owns and operates major sporting events around the globe and manages the careers of athletes, celebrities and models, including tennis stars Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.
Batista also confirmed that he would bid for the concession at Rio's iconic Maracana football arena which is being renovated at a cost of $338 million to be the venue for the final of the 2014 soccer World Cup.
"Maracana is a fantastic space but it must be used for things other than soccer games," he added. "People must be able to spend the day there."
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