Marquee Group Announces Acquisition of British Based Soccer Agency, Tony Stephens Associates; Forms New Corporate Division, Marquee U.K.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 1998--The Marquee Group, Inc. (AMEX: MRT) today announced that it had acquired Tony Stephens Associates Limited, a major soccer talent management firm in the United Kingdom. In conjunction with the acquisition of TSA, Marquee also announced the formation of a new division of the company, Marquee U.K.

Robert M. Gutkowski, President and CEO of Marquee, stated, "The addition of TSA is yet another step toward achieving Marquee's stated goal of becoming a truly global company. TSA is a unique sports marketing company with an outstanding reputation and a portfolio of big name clients. The company was formed ten years ago by Tony Stephens who was then Sales and Marketing director of the Wembley Stadium Complex. Three of the soccer stars represented by TSA, Alan Shearer, David Beckham and Michael Owen, are reported to have a combined insurance value in excess of $150 million. Owen, 18 years old, is considered to be the best young soccer player in the world.

"We now have so much activity in England, that it is a smart corporate move to consolidate all efforts under one brand name, Marquee U.K. Earlier this year, we acquired Park Associates, another U.K.-based major sports talent management firm owned and operated by Jon Holmes, who has run his company for the past 18 years. Before that, Marquee had a presence in England through the London office of our ProServ, the widely recognized sports representation and sports event management corporation with headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices around the world.

"In this new organization, Jon Holmes will serve as Managing Director of Marquee U.K. Tony Stephens will be Marquee U.K.'s Marketing Director. Joining Jon and Tony in Marquee U.K.'s top management ranks will be Patricio Apey, who has worked exceptionally well as Vice President of European Tennis for ProServ, London. Patricio will have the title of Vice President, Marquee ProServ Tennis, a division of Marquee U.K., and another new unit with additional responsibility for overseeing our tennis operation throughout Europe, as well as in Latin America and South America. The creation of Marquee U. K.. streamlines our organization and gives us better control of how we do business as our global expansion continues."

Tony Stephens, the newest Marquee executive, added, "We have had four offers to buy our company during the past six months, but I wanted to find an organization that was in tune with my business principles. I wanted our Management Division to offer small company care with big company international contacts and Marquee fitted the bill perfectly. Our events and consultancy activities will also complement Marquee's wide ranging areas of expertise. We already deal with many of the world's leading brands including McDonald's, Adidas, Braun, Jaguar and Pepsi and are hoping to grow these European contracts into global ones through our relationship with Marquee."

The Marquee Group recently entered into an agreement with SFX Entertainment to be acquired in a stock merger for $6.00 per share, subject to adjustment.

Marquee provides integrated event management, television production, marketing, talent representation and consulting services in the sports, news and other entertainment industries. The company provides production and promotion services to major sporting events, sports television shows and professional and collegiate leagues and organizations. In conjunction with these services, it also offers consulting services for the development and implementation of corporate sponsorship campaigns which are designed to promote an event, team or sponsor. Marquee also represents sports and media personalities and has a roster of clients including athletes, broadcasters and media executives. The services provided include negotiating employment agreements and creating and evaluating various business opportunities for its sports, news and entertainment clients. In addition, Marquee is an established provider of television programming services in the field of international sports. The company also books tours and appearances for a variety of premier musicians and entertainers and through these activities, Marquee is able to take advantage of opportunities in the music business, such as corporate sponsorships and entitlements, which are already being capitalized on in the sports business.