genius sports

Genius bolsters sports portfolio with $200m Second Spectrum acquisition

Data and technology provider Genius Sports has entered into a ‘definitive agreement’ to acquire Second Spectrum, an official analytics partner of several high-profile professional sports leagues and teams, for a purchase price of $200 million.

As a data tracking and analytics partner of the English Premier League, National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Soccer (MLS), Second Spectrum will significantly bolster Genius Sports’ international portfolio of league clients.

The takeover will be paid in cash and Genius common stock shares upon closing of the agreement, subject to customary adjustments and closing conditions, whilst Genius expects the merger to be completed in Q2 2021.

Furthermore, Second Spectrum is predicted to be ‘EBITDA positive post integration’, whilst Genius has confirmed that further details concerning quantification on synergies will be published in its upcoming Q1 trading report.

Genius – which just last month listed on the New Stork Stock Exchange and surpassed its $1.5 billion targeting evaluation – stated that the new merger aims to ‘create a complete end-to-end offering for the sports, betting and media ecosystem’.

“Genius is committed to capturing and distributing the fastest, most accurate and secure official sports data,” said Mark Locke, Genius Sports CEO.

“This acquisition supports our long-term strategic vision of utilising AI tracking, enhanced data insights and transformative technology to revolutionise the sports data landscape for the fans, our customers and sports and media partners.

“Adding additional fan engagement technology to our already diverse and cutting-edge portfolio of products and services will create compelling, unique content, that will transform user experiences and create additional revenue streams for our customers. We are delighted to welcome Rajiv and his team to the Genius Sports family.”

Second Spectrum has an extensive client base of over 400 sports organisations, maintaining data tracking partnerships with the aforementioned EPL, NBA and MLS, as well as including the National Football League (NFL), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Los Angeles Clippers in its portfolio.

The firm uses AI capabilities and computer vision technology to capture precise ball and player location-based data, and has also secured agreements with major media outlets ESPN, BT Sport and Bally Sports, offering augmented reality features for certain soccer and basketball fixtures.

Rajiv Maheswaran, Second Spectrum CEO, added: “We are thrilled to join the Genius Sports family. Mark and his incredible team have built the fastest growing sports data platform on the planet by better serving sports leagues, fans and their partners by leveraging technology in novel and compelling ways. 

“Second Spectrum’s mission to be at the forefront of innovation in the sports ecosystem in combination with the scale and drive of Genius Sports will rapidly accelerate how content is created and experienced and bring significant value for our partners and clients.“

Genius intends to utilise these capabilities to offer data-driven insights to its global partners, including leagues, federations, teams, fans coaches, sports betting operators, broadcasters and sponsors.

In addition, the company has highlighted the development of an enhanced fan engagement experience, leveraging real-time data and analytics as a key objective of the merger, combining its own streaming capabilities with Second Spectrum’s tracking and interactive broadcast solutions, which integrate advanced data with augmented video content.

The merger follows Genius’ acquisition of FanHub Media earlier this week in a prior enhancement of its fan engagement operations by integrating the latter’s FTP games offering into its sports betting unit, in its first takeover as an NYSE-listed corporation.

SBC News Genius bolsters sports portfolio with $200m Second Spectrum acquisition

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