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Sportradar has closed its acquisition of the IMG Arena betting and sports data business from Endeavor Group Holdings.
Key details:
- Sportradar acquires IMG Arena and its global sports betting rights portfolio
- Deal to boost company’s content distribution and product development
- Sportradar to integrate and monetise rights across its technology platform and client network
Context:
Sportradar agreed to buy IMG Arena from sports and entertainment giant Endeavor in March. The deal will see Endeavor pay Sportradar US$103 million for the global sports technology company to acquire IMG Arena and its portfolio. Endeavor will also part with US$122 million to certain sports rights holders, meaning it will pay out US$225 million in total.
The payments to Sportradar, which are subject to customary purchase price adjustments, will be made over a two-year period.
IMG Arena’s portfolio of global betting rights comprises partnerships with over 70 rightsholders covering approximately 38,000 official data events and 29,000 streaming events across 14 sports. Properties include the Wimbledon, US Open and French Open tennis Grand Slams, as well as Major League Soccer (MLS), EuroLeague basketball and golf’s PGA Tour.
The acquisition means Sportradar’s sports coverage totals more than one million matches annually.
The decision to offload IMG Arena was part of Silver Lake’s plan to take Endeavor private, with the private equity giant confirming it would divest certain business units.
Comment:
“We are pleased to complete the acquisition of IMG Arena,” said Sportradar chief executive Carsten Koerl. “This marks a significant milestone for Sportradar expanding our access to premium sports content that strengthens and complements our already robust global portfolio and capabilities.
“With this, we are uniquely positioned to deliver even more immersive, data rich experiences to our clients, partners and fans around the world while accelerating innovation at scale across the global sports ecosystem.”
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