China's Wanda agrees deal with world basketball federation

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:52 a.m. ET

foxsports

BEIJING (AP) China's largest private property developer, the Wanda Group, is teaming up with basketball's international governing body FIBA in a multimillion-dollar marketing deal as it expands its global presence in sports.

Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin and FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann said in Beijing on Thursday that Wanda subsidiary Infront Sports & Media will exclusively sell and market the association's global sponsorship and licensing rights for FIBA's Basketball World Cup events up to 2033.

The alliance will also seek to develop China's national team and the grassroots game in the country.

Wanda, which owns cinemas, hotels and entertainment parks, has been aggressively pushing into sports. Last year it acquired a stake in Spanish soccer club Atletico Madrid and it is also a major sponsor of the FIFA World Cup.