Panini Group Extends NBA Partnership With New Multiyear Exclusive Agreement

NEW YORK and IRVING, Texas, Oct. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Basketball Association (www.nba.com) and the Panini Group (www.paninigroup.com) – the world's largest sports and entertainment collectibles company – today announced an extension of their partnership through a new multiyear agreement. Under the terms of the new agreement, Panini will continue to be the exclusive trading card and sticker partner for the NBA globally, expanding its current development and distribution of trading cards and products worldwide, with a particular focus on China. The relationship will be managed by the Panini Group's U.S. subsidiary, Panini America (www.paniniamerica.net).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121029/DA01819)

This renewal reinforces Panini's unparalleled position as the only company in the world to manufacture official trading cards and stickers for the NBA, NFL, NFLPA, NHL, NHLPA, MLBPA, and FIFA World Cup. Panini's array of NBA products, which include "National Treasures" and "Prestige," is designed to attract new and existing collectors, and to establish a high-end marketplace for NBA trading cards and related products domestically and internationally.

"Our companies share a collective interest in promoting our brands worldwide," said NBA Executive Vice President Global Merchandising Group Sal LaRocca. "Panini has continually demonstrated the ability and commitment to creating products that appeal to our fans on a global basis."

"The popularity of the NBA game globally is unmatched and, with new NBA superstars emerging, it's an exciting time to collect NBA trading cards, which are not only fun but highly sought after in the secondary trading card market," said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop. "In the last three years, there has not been a more valuable modern-day trading card than our National Treasures NBA product that included a 1-of-1 Blake Griffin NBA Logoman Rookie card that sold on the secondary market for $38,000. This new long-term agreement with the NBA serves as the foundation to our future growth and our long-term commitment to the trading card category."

The Panini Group has exclusive relationships with some of the NBA's most recognizable players, including five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. In May of this year, Panini Authentic, Panini's memorabilia division, signed the Dallas Mavericks as its first exclusive game-worn team partner. Panini also has exclusive relationships with USA Basketball, USA Baseball, the U.S. Soccer Women's National Team, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Disney, Hello Kitty, Justin Bieber, One Direction and Michael Jackson and more than 600 global licenses with other sports and entertainment properties.

ABOUT PANINI:
The Panini Group, established more than 50 years ago in Modena, Italy, has subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for MLBPA, NBA, NFL, NHL, FIFA, USA Baseball, Disney, Nickelodeon, Hello Kitty, Warner Bros. and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini has distribution channels in more than 100 countries and employs a staff of over 800. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com or www.paniniamerica.wordpress.com. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and on YouTube.

ABOUT THE NBA:
The NBA is a global sports and media business that features three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women's National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence, with offices in 15 markets worldwide, games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. End-of-season 2011-12 NBA rosters featured 78 international players from 39 countries and territories. The NBA's digital assets include NBA TV, which is available in nearly 60 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which averages more than 42 million page views per day, more than half of which originate from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with more than 300 million fans and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $205 million to charity, completed more than 2.1 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 750 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.

Media Contacts:
Tracy Hackler, Panini America
214-552-3475
[email protected]

Amanda Thorn, NBA
212-407-8477
[email protected]

SOURCE Panini Group