LUArenas, a joint venture between BWA and Lagardère Unlimited, a French sports and media group, is to acquire the rights to operate the Fortaleza stadium concession.

The transaction was approved last week by the Conselho Gestor da Parceria Público-Privada (PPP), formed by the Casa Civil do Governo do Estado, Secretaria Especial da Copa 2014 (Secopa), Procuradoria Geral do Estado (PGE), Secretaria da Fazenda (Sefaz) and Secretaria da Infraestrutura do Ceará (Seinfra).

The deal, which will be signed in the next days, will not produce any alteration to the World Cup events. Fortaleza stadium will be a World Cup venue.

The concessionaire has a five-year exclusivity contract with the Ceará FC to use the stadium.

Currently the consortium that manages Fortaleza's Arena Castelão consists of Galvão Engenharia SA (93%), Serveng Civilsan SA (2%) and Information Technology BWA Ltda. (5%).

The PPP contract will finish in 2018.

BWA will offer its expertise in ticketing and access control, as well as its knowledge of the local sports market. LagardeÌ€re Unlimited will provide facility management and technical services, in addition to bringing various content, marketing and commercial support to the venue.

Alain Lemarchand, Head of Lagardère Unlimited Europe and Africa, stated:

Stadium management is a key element of our long-term strategy. We are very pleased and honoured to be partnering with BWA to boost the development of our strategy in this promising region.

Lagardère Unlimited thus continues to develop its international portfolio of stadiums under management. Through the expertise of its fully owned subsidiary Lagardère Unlimited Stadium Solutions (LUSS), the agency has become a leading player in the global development and management of stadiums and arenas, and is now expanding its footprint in Brazil.