mates and Banijay Group join forces to create a leading player in sports experiences and events

mates and Banijay Group join forces to create a leading player in sports experiences and events

• Banijay Group partners with mates to accelerate its growth
• mates is a company dedicated to sporting experiences and events, driven by the vision and expertise of Tony Estanguet and Michaël Aloïsio
• Combining mates’ sports expertise with Banijay Group’s know-how in the entertainment sector
• Creating new events and supporting the growth of existing sports concepts
• Shared belief in the unique power of sport to bring people together and create emotions, and in the opportunities unlocked by combining sport and entertainment expertise

Paris, 12 October 2026 – mates, the company co-founded by Tony Estanguet and Michaël Aloïsio, and Banijay Group, a global entertainment leader, today announced a partnership to build a major player dedicated to sports experiences and events.

At the heart of this partnership lies a shared belief in the unique power of sport to create individual and collective emotions, bringing together generations, cultures and communities. mates and Banijay Group believe there is enormous potential to imagine, create and develop exceptional sporting events and experiences that can engage audiences on a broad scale.

The partnership brings together the vision and experience of Tony Estanguet, Michaël Aloïsio and their team with Banijay Group’s expertise in entertainment.

Together, they aim to create new sporting events and experiences for a broad audience, reimagining the ways people participate in, experience and share sport. This shared belief in sport’s potential as a driver of global entertainment is fully aligned with Banijay Group’s strategic plan, which identifies sport as a common growth driver across its businesses, from content production and live events to sports betting.

With Banijay Group on board, mates intends to create new projects, support the growth of existing projects and help them scale in France and internationally, while preserving their identity and entrepreneurial spirit.

Tony Estanguet, President of mates, said: “Sport has a unique ability to bring people together, inspire us to push our limits and create extraordinary emotions. With mates, we want to build on everything we learned from Paris 2024 and dare to imagine new ways for people to experience sport. We are particularly proud to be partnering with Banijay Group, one of the world’s leading entertainment companies. What they have built, their entrepreneurial culture and their ability to grow businesses around the world are tremendous assets for our project. This partnership also gives us a unique opportunity to bring together our expertise with that of a global leader in content, live entertainment and audiovisual production. Sport generates incredible stories and emotions, and there is so much we can imagine at the intersection of these worlds.”

François Riahi, CEO of Banijay Group, said: “Since its inception, Banijay Group has grown by partnering with entrepreneurs, talent and established brands. Sport is now one of the most dynamic areas of the entertainment industry, sitting at the intersection of events, content and communities. We are delighted to be joining forces with Tony, Michaël and their teams, whose success in delivering Paris 2024 demonstrated an exceptional ability to conceive and execute projects on a global scale. By combining their expertise in sporting events with our experience in creating, developing and scaling entertainment IP internationally, we aim to build a leading player in sports experiences and events.”

Complementary expertise
mates and Banijay Group are bringing together their complementary capabilities to create and develop a new generation of sporting events and experiences.

mates was born out of the legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Its founders, Michaël Aloïsio and Tony Estanguet, were instrumental in bringing the project to life, helping to conceive, build and lead it over more than a decade. That experience reinforced a shared conviction: sport takes on a whole new dimension when it moves beyond traditional venues, transforms iconic locations and invites everyone to become part of the experience.

The Paris 2024 journey shaped the culture and capabilities that mates brings to the table today: creating original concepts, bringing together complex ecosystems and delivering large-scale projects from initial vision through to execution.

Banijay Group brings the experience of an entrepreneurial company that has grown into one of the world’s leading players in entertainment, content and live experiences. Since its inception, the Group has expanded by partnering with entrepreneurs, talent and strong brands, leveraging its international network to support their growth around the world.

Through Banijay Live, the Group has extended this expertise into live experiences, notably through Balich Wonder Studio, a leading producer of major international events and ceremonies, including the opening ceremonies of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Milano Cortina Olympic Games.

Create. Partner. Grow
mates will be jointly owned on a 50/50 basis by its founders and Banijay Group, and will be consolidated into Banijay Group’s financial statements. Tony Estanguet serves as President and Michaël Aloïsio as CEO.