Global sports and entertainment agency Endeavor is a step closer to selling off its IMG Arena betting and sports data business after entering a definitive acquisition agreement with rival sports data and technology heavyweight Sportradar.
The deal will see Endeavor pay Sportradar $125 million to take over IMG Arena’s global portfolio of betting rights, with the agency shelling out a further $100 million to certain sports rightsholders. Overall Endeavor will spend close to $225 million to rid itself of the business, before being taken private by Silver Lake.
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Sportradar has said the assets will enhance its content and product offerings and strengthen its position as a leading content provider for global sports such as tennis, soccer, and basketball.
Sportradar chief executive Carsten Koerl stated: “The unique structure of this transaction accelerates our revenue and cash flow profile and will be immediately accretive to our margins.
“The addition of these strategic rights will unlock new growth opportunities, enabling us to deliver exceptional value to our partners, clients, and shareholders.”
IMG Arena’s portfolio comprises relationships with over 70 rightsholders – including tennis’ iconic Wimbledon, US Open, and Roland-Garros grand slams, US soccer’s Major League Soccer, basketball’s EuroLeague, and golf’s PGA Tour.
The portfolio covers approximately 39,000 official data events and 30,000 streaming events.
The deal comes seven months after Endeavor put IMG Arena and its OpenBet business up for sale ahead of the closing of its privatization deal with private equity firm Silver Lake.
Endeavor first acquired sports betting platform OpenBet in 2022 for about $800 million and merged it with IMG Arena into one division in February last year.
IMG Arena was initially part of Endevor’s deal to sell OpenBet to a group backed by chief executive Ari Emanuel for around $450 million in November. However, the company said it would continue to market IMG Arena for sale to third parties – from the signing period to the close of the deal.
The Silver Lake-Endeavor agreement, meanwhile, was first announced at the start of April. Silver Lake is purchasing 100% of the shares in Endeavor (that it doesn’t already own) in what was at the time called the “largest” private equity sponsor privatization of any business in the media and entertainment sector ever, with a total enterprise value of $25 billion.
Silver Lake first invested in Endeavor in 2012, and the agency went public in 2021.
Sportradar’s acquisition comes shortly after Endeavor closed its deal to sell a trio of its high-profile sport and entertainment assets to its TKO Group subsidiary in anticipation of its privatization.
A $3.25 billion all-equity purchase saw the major sports and entertainment agency IMG, the events and hospitality firm On Location, and the bull riding touring competition Professional Bull Riders (PBR) taken under the TKO Group umbrella.
