Press Release from the Competition Council regarding the economic concentration project concerning the acquisition by the “International Federation of Association Football” of the exclusive control of the company “Host Broadcast Services AG” and its subsidiaries

In accordance with Article 13 of Law No. 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition and Article 10 of Decree No. 2-14-652 adopted for its implementation, as amended and supplemented, the Competition Council makes available to the public the “operation summary” below, containing the information provided by the parties.

This information was prepared by the notifying party, which is solely responsible. Any inaccurate or distorted information contained therein does not in any way prejudge the Competition Council’s position on the proposed operation.

The publication of this press release does not attest to the completeness of the file provided for in Article 9 of Decree No. 2-14-652 adopted for the implementation of Law No. 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition as amended and supplemented.

Names of the companies and groups concerned:

• The acquirer: The “International Federation of Association Football”;
• The target: The company “Host Broadcast Services AG” and its subsidiaries.

Nature of the operation

• Acquisition of exclusive control.

Economic sectors concerned

• The market for providing host broadcasting services for international sports and non-sports events.

Deadline for interested third parties to submit their observations

• 10 days from the date of publication of this press release, i.e. September 23, 2024.

NON-CONFIDENTIAL SUMMARY OF THE OPERATION PROVIDED BY THE PARTIES

The Competition Council received notification of an economic concentration operation concerning the two-stage acquisition by the “International Federation of Association Football” (FIFA) of the exclusive control of the company “Host Broadcast Services AG” and its subsidiaries.

The proposed operation will be structured in two stages, namely (i) FIFA’s acquisition of a 49% stake in the company “Host Broadcast Services AG” and (ii) FIFA’s additional acquisition of a 1% stake in the Target, ultimately granting FIFA exclusive control of the Target.

The “International Federation of Association Football” (FIFA) is a non-profit association based in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the international governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. FIFA is responsible for organizing and promoting international football tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“Host Broadcast Services AG” is a Swiss joint-stock company specializing in providing host broadcasting services, i.e. the production of audiovisual (AV) content, engineering services, and consulting to broadcast rights holders, such as sports federations and clubs.

 

Done in Rabat on September 12, 2024.