Brazil’s Batista Is in Talks to Sell Luxury Box Seats for Soccer World Cup
IMX, a partnership of IMG Worldwide Inc. and billionaire Eike Batista’s EBX Group Co. Ltd., is in talks with FIFA to sell tickets for the 2014 World Cup and 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup soccer tournaments in Brazil.
IMX, based in Rio de Janeiro, is negotiating the rights to sell luxury box tickets in Brazil with Match Hospitality AG, according to two separate e-mails from FIFA and EBX. Match Hospitality, based in Zurich, has an exclusive contract to sell tickets for FIFA-organized events.
“Match Hospitality is in discussions with IMX,” FIFA said in the e-mail yesterday, “to be possibly named by us as a vendor of box packages in the Brazilian domestic market. At this time, no contract has been signed with IMX or any other company in the EBX group.”
Brazil’s 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will require investments of 140 billion reais ($87 billion) in stadiums, highways and other infrastructure projects, Sports Minister Orlando Silva said on April 22. Batista in November announced the creation of his sports marketing company IMX, a partnership with IMG Worldwide. Former player Ronaldo Nazario de Lima last year created 9ine in conjunction with WPP Plc (WPP), the world’s biggest publicity agency.
The vendor chosen by Match Hospitality will be responsible for selling hospitality and luxury box packages, and not general seat tickets, FIFA said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joao Oliveira in Sao Paulo at joliveira4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Francisco Marcelino at mdeoliveira@bloomberg.net
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