Vista acquires Perform to merge with Stats

Kenny Wastell
16 April 2019

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Vista Equity Partners has acquired UK-headquartered sports media business Perform from trade vendor Dazn Group in order to merge it with existing portfolio company Stats.

The GP drew capital from its seventh fund in order to finance the transaction, which has a target of $16bn and held an interim close on $11.4bn in October 2018.

According to recent reports by Unquote sister publication Mergermarket, Perform generated EBITDA of £44m in 2018 and the vendor was aiming to benchmark it against the 2018 sale of Sportradar, which fetched a 20-25x EBITDA multiple.

Dazn will receive a combination of cash and a significant minority stake in the consolidated business, according to a statement. The vendor will redirect all its profits from the transaction into its sport streaming service.

The transaction comes five years after Vista acquired Chicago-headquartered Stats, a sports data and content provider, from Fox and the Associated Press with capital drawn from its fourth flagship vehicle. It will create a group that caters to both the European and North American sport markets.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in the second half of 2019.

Company
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Feltham, near London, Perform is a sport media company that comprises online publishing, data analytics, branded online games and betting platforms. In addition to operating consumer brands, the company applies machine learning to its data, in order to provide predictions and automated analysis for betting companies, professional sport teams and broadcasters. Its brands include Opta, OptaPro, Goal, Sporting News and Omnisport.

People
Vista Equity Partners – Robert F Smith (founder, chairperson, CEO).
Stats – Carl Mergele (CEO).
Dazn Group – Simon Denyer (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Morgan Stanley (corporate finance); Kirkland & Ellis (legal).
Vendor – PJT Partners (corporate finance); Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (legal).
Company (Perform) – Debevoise & Plimpton (legal).