R4E.L Regulatory News (R4E)

9 Nov 2007 12:16

First Artist Corporation PLC09 November 2007 Date: 9 November 2007On behalf of: First Artist Corporation plc ("First Artist" or "the Group") For immediate release First Artist Corporation plc • Acts in Ruud Gullit Move to Galaxy First Artist Corporation plc (AIM: FAN), the media, entertainment, and eventsgroup, announces that it acted for Ruud Gullit in his engagement as new coachfor Los Angeles Galaxy. The deal extends the Company's delivery of its sportsmanagement business in the United States. Corrinne Goodhall of First Artistnegotiated the terms of the three year deal and acts as Ruud Gullit's commercialadvisor. Commenting on the announcement, Jon Smith, Chief Executive of First Artist,said: "Ruud Gullit is a global football icon and teaming him with David Beckhamembodies Ruud's belief in sexy football. The US is becoming a key market forhigh profile soccer stars and we are delighted to be at the heart of this latestmove. First Artist looks forward to continuing to work with Ruud in his newrole in California and further extending our activities in the US." Ruud Gullit has been managed by First Artist since 1996. He was previouslymanager at Chelsea and Newcastle United football clubs. As a player, he starredfor Dutch clubs such as Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, and achieved worldrecognition in the 1990s with AC Milan where he won two European Cups and aworld club championship. His international career spanned 66 games for theDutch national team between 1981 and 1994, captioning the team to EuropeanChampionship success in 1988. - ends - Enquiries: Jon Smith, Chief ExecutiveRichard Hughes, Group Managing Director www.firstartist.comFirst Artist Corporation Tel: 020 7993 0000 Emma Kane / Samantha Robbins / Sanna Lehtinen sr@redleafpr.comRedleaf Communications Tel: 020 7822 0200 David FloydDawnay Day, NOMAD Tel: 020 7509 4570 Katie SheltonDaniel Stewart, Broker Tel: 020 7776 6550 Notes to Editors: • First Artist Corporation plc floated on AIM in 2001• First Artist's group companies are among the leading brands in their fields under the following categories: • Media - advertising, marketing and signage for West End, Broadway and Las Vegas shows via the Dewynters and Newman Displays brands, and strategic sponsorship consulting via Sponsorship Consulting and First Rights • Management - representation of media personalities and football players /clubs across UK, Europe and the US via its First Artist Sport and First Artist Entertainment companies together with wealth management under its Optimal Wealth Management arm • Events - offers a broad range of events such as conferences, company activity days, venue finding, delegate management and client events for private and public sector clients such as the Training & Development Agency, under its Finishing Touch business • First Artist is acting as a consolidator in the fragmented media, entertainment and events sectors focusing on high quality brands with the potential to cross sell to other Group companies • First Artist has strong visibility of earnings across a diverse and non-cyclical range of activities in both live and digital formats • The Group benefits from a strong, experienced management team with extensive expertise across all the sectors in which it operates This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange