April 2007

Baseball
It was revealed that Japan's Seibu Lions paid rewards to 170 managers at amateur teams for their help in acquiring players over a 27-year period from 1978 to 2005. (Daily Yomiuri Online, 4/5/07)

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Basketball
Pearl River Brewery has agreed to become the official beer of Team China Basketball in a deal brokered by Infront Sports & Media, the exclusive marketing partner of the Chinese Basketball Association. (Sportbusiness.com, 4/6/07)

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Other Sports
CBS acquired MaxPreps.com, a high school network that provides scores, schedules, rankings and streaming videos, and will fold it under their CSTV unit. (Wall Street Journal, 4/12/07)

China's National Stadium Co. said the naming rights for the 91,000-seat Olympic Stadium in Beijing will be sold after the 2008 Summer Games with no restriction on foreign companies. (Sports Business Journal, 4/21/07)

ESPN Star Sports announced plans to launch Star Cricket, a dedicated cricket channel in India, in June 2007. ESPN Star Sports acquired the rights for the International Cricket Council (ICC), including the next two World Cups in 2011 and 2015, in a $1.1 billion deal. (Sportbusiness.com, 4/26/07)

The first 40,000 tickets for the New York Giants-Miami Dolphins game at Wembley Stadium in London on 10/28/07 sold out in 90 minutes. Those tickets were sold to European fans who had registered for a drawing to purchase tickets. (Sports Business Journal, 4/28/07)

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China
Ticketmaster is expanding its presence in China by helping to build a ticketing infrastructure for a joint venture formed by the Nederlanders, a major Broadway theatrical family, to present Broadway-style shows in China. (Wall Street Journal, 4/12/07)

Gome Electrical Appliances, China's largest electrical-appliance retailer, said net profit rose 64%, helped by China's booming consumer-electronics retail industry. (Wall Street Journal, 4/20/07)

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India
Hershey Co. agreed to pay about $60 million for a 51% equity stake in Godrej Beverages & Food, an Indian company that will help the US chocolate maker gain access to a fast-growing confectionary market. (Wall Street Journal, 4/13/07)

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Other Business
Marvel Entertainment has reached a deal with Al Ahli Group from United Arab Emirates (UAE) to license its superheroes, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, and the Fantastic Four, to a new theme park in Dubai. (Wall Street Journal, 4/12/07)