While Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson play out their bitter rivalry at the Masters, a deal could be in the works to bring the famous foes under the same management.
Sources tell us French billionaire Arnaud Lagardère is eyeing Excel Sports Management, which represents Woods, Knicks Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler, Celtics star Paul Pierce and Yankees Derek Jeter and Mark Teixiera, among others.
Lagardère Unlimited, the sports and entertainment division of the Lagardère Group, in early 2012 announced it had acquired Gaylord Sports Management Group, whose clients include Mickelson, Nick Faldo and Bronson Arroyo.
A source tells us: “Lagardère has shown a strong interest in Excel and is talking to them about it. It is not a done deal, but the talks are ongoing. Lagardère wants to set up a sports empire. Mickelson and Woods have an extremely competitive rivalry that has bred some contempt among their rival camps. It would be interesting to see how that plays out if they end up under the same management umbrella.”
Lagardère, 52, a regular in the European media with his 20-something leggy Belgian model girlfriend, Jade Foret, is the son of Jean-Luc Lagardère, the former chairman of Matra Hachette. Arnaud took over the company following his father’s death in 2003.
While Lagardère was once expected to become chairman of European Aeronautic Defence & Space, his Lagardère SCA last week said it has sold its 7.4 percent stake in the aerospace firm for $2.97 billion. According to The Wall Street Journal, Lagardère said it would use proceeds from the sale to pay a dividend and reduce debt.
But sports insiders said it’s a further sign of a shift in the company to move more into media and sports rights. Lagardère Unlimited already represents sports stars including Joakim Noah, Reggie Bush, Andy Roddick, Caroline Wozniacki and Dwight Howard.
Reps for Lagardère and Excel Sports Management didn’t get back to us.