Business | Telecoms
Saudi Telecom in deal with Manchester United
Saudi Telecom (STC) is set to sign a marketing deal with British football club Manchester United that could be worth $18.6 million, a spokesman said, its first-ever deal with a non-Saudi football club.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:21 August 17, 2008
Riyadh: Saudi Telecom (STC) is set to sign a marketing deal with British football club Manchester United that could be worth $18.6 million, a spokesman said, its first-ever deal with a non-Saudi football club.
Football is a favoured pastime in the Middle East and telecom firms, including Emirates Telecommunications, are often lead sponsors of sporting events.
STC has spent more than $6 billion in foreign expansion since June 2007 as it faces greater competition in its home market, where securing sponsorship deals with local soccer clubs helps telecom companies retain customers in a saturated market.
"We are at Manchester now. We will have a press conference tomorrow and the deal will be announced during a Manchester United game," STC spokesman Mohammad Al Faraj told Reuters on Sunday.
He declined to elaborate on the nature of the deal.
Britain's The Sunday Times reported on Sunday that the five-year deal would grant STC rights to use Manchester United's logo and imagery in its marketing in Saudi Arabia.
STC would be able to offer its subscribers video clips of match highlights, the paper said.
"The arrangement is said to be one of the biggest non-shirt sponsorship deals in British football," the Times said.
STC competes in Saudi Arabia with Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) and Zain Saudi Arabia. The incumbent operator has paid $200 million for five-year sponsorship agreements with three Saudi clubs.
Mobily deal
Its rival Mobily signed a 200-million-riyal ($53.3 million) sports-marketing deal with Saudi soccer club Al Hilal last year - then described as the Middle East's largest ever deal of its kind.
STC's first foreign acquisition was of a 25 per cent stake in Malaysia's Maxis for $3 billion, opening markets in India, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Many leading names in the world of soccer finance, including Manchester United, have sought to develop strong ties in various Asian countries in recent years, through sponsorship, tours and links with local clubs.
The five-year deal would grant STC rights to use Manchester United's logo and imagery in its marketing in Saudi Arabia.
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