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- Versant was spun out from Comcast last year
- Full Swing has produced golf sim tech for 40 years
- Bruin gets another big payday following Two Circles, Deltatre and On Location exits
Cable television group Versant is acquiring sports tech firm Full Swing from Bruin Capital in a US$530 million move designed to enhance its live coverage and diversify its revenue streams.
Founded in 1986, Full Swing is best known for producing golf simulators used at commercial, residential and entertainment venues. The company is an official PGA Tour licensee and its products are used by several leading professionals, including Tiger Woods.
Full Swing’s technology is also integral to TMRW Sports’ tech-infused TGL golf competition. The firm’s virtual world environment powers digital courses used at the SoFi Center, while the three virtual greens – each equipped 189 actuators and jacks to dynamically alter slopes and gradients – are among the largest ever constructed.
More recently the company has expanded into baseball and other sports and is benefiting from demand for immersive experiences and content – at home, in sporting environments, and at sports-themed leisure venues. There are also performance-related benefits that can be used in professional settings.
Versant, which was spun off by Comcast, is keen to futureproof its business by reducing its reliance on linear broadcasting by expanding its digital operations. Versant comprises several former NBCUniversal cable properties, including USA Network, CNBC, and Golf Channel, as well as digital services such as GolfNow and Rotten Tomatoes.
Carriage fees and advertising remain lucrative sources of income for Versant, which has been linked with moves for other cable channels and premium live sports rights to bolster its linear division and achieve economies of scale.
However, the ongoing decline in pay-TV households necessitates diversification.
Full Swing represents an opportunity not just to unlock a new revenue stream, but to leverage Versant’s existing golf assets to add value.
“Full Swing is exactly the kind of strategic platform that reflects how we are building Versant: investing in our core markets, extending the reach of our iconic brands and creating new ways to serve passionate audiences,” said Mark Lazarus, Versant chief executive.
“Sports are becoming more interactive, more data-driven and more connected, and Full Swing allows us to build on that momentum. Starting from our strength in golf, we see an opportunity to scale a multi-sports technology platform for athletes, coaches, consumers, and fans.”
The sale represents another successful exit for Bruin, which has more than US$2.5 billion worth of assets under its management and acquired Full Swing for a reported US$160 million in July 2021.
Bruin sold a majority stake in sports marketing agency Two Circles to Charterhouse Capital Partners (CCP) in 2024, having originally paid US$40 million five years earlier. It also transformed a US$160 million stake in streaming tech firm Deltatre into a US$900 million sale in just six years and sold hospitality firm On Location to Endeavor for US$660 million in 2020 – a significant uplift from the US$70 million it paid in 2015.
“Joining Versant’s portfolio and resources, under Mark [Lazarus’s] vision for the future of sports and fan experiences, is exactly the kind of next chapter we set out for when we acquired Full Swing five years ago,” said George Pyne, Bruin Capital founder & chief executive. “Its data and technology are a perfect fit for the interactive, athlete-to-fan ecosystem Versant is building. This is truly a win for everyone.”
Earlier this year, Bruin raised US$1 billion for a new investment vehicle targeting businesses across the global sports industry and acquired a 15 per cent stake in Matchroom that values the boxing, darts and snooker promoter at more than UK£1 billion (US$1.36 billion) in May. Bruin also has stakes in TGI Sport, Box To Box Films and AS1 soccer agency.
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