Albion exits Opta for £40m, reaps 3x money

Ellie Pullen
03 July 2013

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Albion Ventures has divested its stake in London-based Opta, a provider of sports data and analysis, to trade player Perform Group for ТЃ40m, reaping a 3x money multiple.

According to Perform, the price tag is accompanied by a £7m management incentive.

The sale is conditional upon a successful fundraising. London Stock Exchange-listed Perform Group plans on placing an additional 23.9 million shares to fund the acquisition of Opta, equivalent to a 9.99% stake. The rest of the offering's proceeds will be kept to finance future acquisitions.

Albion first invested in Opta in February 2008. The GP provided £1.5m in funding to the company in return for a minority stake. This was followed by two more funding rounds in which Albion participated. The GP has committed £2.1m to Opta in total, meaning it has realised a return of more than 3x its investment in the company through the sale to Perform Group.

Company
Founded in 1996, Opta is based in London with additional offices in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Uruguay, Australia and the US. The company currently employs 180 staff and recorded turnover of £10.8m for 2012, as well as an EBITDA of £901,000. Opta has forecast turnover and EBITDA to reach £12.5m and £1.3m respectively in 2013.

Opta provides analysis on statistical live data for a range of sports. Its technology is used by a customer base of 300 across 40 countries.

People
Toby Russell is the founder of Opta. Albion partner David Gudgin currently sits on Opta's board of directors. Patrick Reeve is a managing partner at Albion.

Advisers
Company - Cavendish (Corporate finance); Stevens & Bolton (Legal).
Acquirer - Wiggins (Legal).