(ATR) Negotations between the IOC and Samsung to renew the South Korean company's TOP Sponsorship went down to the last minute, Around the Rings understands.
Sources close to the negotiations tellATRthe two reached an agreement minutes before the start of the Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony in Nanjing.Samsung maintains its mobile phone category, while adding the computing category to its deal, covering the 2018 and 2020 Games.
The expanded category will includesmartphones, tablets, laptops, personal computers, and desktop printers.
The signing ceremony took place on Sunday in Nanjing where the 2014 Youth Olympic Games are underway.
Eschewing traditional paper for the signing ceremony, IOC President Thomas Bach and Samsung vice chairman Jay Lee "inked" the deal with tablets, using digital signatures.
Lee served as lead negotiator in place of his father, Samsung chairman and IOC member Kun Hee Lee. The elder Lee is still recovering from a heart attack he suffered in May.
"Samsung aims to spread the Olympic spirit through our innovative products, enabling all fans around the world to stay connected and share the excitement of the Olympic Movement," Younghee Lee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile division, said in the IOC statement announcing the deal.
"We are proud to extend our involvement as it is meaningful to us to inspire people through the passion that lies behind the Games and contribute to creating a smarter Olympic Games."
Samsung succeeds Acer as the TOP Sponsor for Computers. In 2012, Acer declined to renew its TOP sponsorship. The computing TOP category was unfilled for the Sochi Olympics, the first time in decades an Olympics lacked a computer sponsor. Lenovo, Dell, and IBM were all previous Olympic computer sponsors.
Samsung began its involvement with the Olympics as a local sponsor of the 1988 Seoul Games.Samsung became the TOP Sponsor for mobile phones following the 1998 Olympics.
"Samsung supports the operations of each Games by providing leading wireless telecommunications and technology equipment," Bach said announcing the deal.
"In addition, Samsung’s technologies and global marketing reach will engage fans around the world with the Olympic values and the Olympic Movement."
Written byNicole Bennett
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