Live sports advertising is the new way and Interregional Sports Group (ISG) virtual media solutions provider was so successful at it since launching in 2015, they were just acquired by TGI Sport in a joint deal with Australian based Quadrant Private Equity (Quadrant). This sports technology news comes out Melbourne, London and New York. TGI is a global sports tech, media and marketing company. Through this acquisition, they add ISG’s seasoned leadership team and virtual media advertising technologies creating a full-service worldwide marketing and media agency supported by advanced technology for live sporting events. The Sports Techie follows Bruin Capital international investment and operating company founded by Founder and CEO, George Pyne @GFPyne, with investments by The Jordan Company, CVC Capital Partners, Rock Ventures, NNS Chaired by Nassef Sawiris, and a notable group of family investment funds. The deal is the first since Bruin backed Quadrant Private Equity in 2021.
TGI Sport’s Global CEO Martin Jolly said, “We are thrilled about this acquisition because it is emblematic of how we plan to grow TGI going forward. Instantly, our business enters a new sector – one that many believe is the future of live sports media and advertising. We do so with leading-edge capabilities and expertise. In addition, Tony and Simon are highly respected within our industry and will profoundly impact our organization far beyond leading ISG’s development. Ultimately, our core business is stronger.”
ISG
ISG was founded by Tony Ragan and business partner Simon Burgess. Fast forward to the year 2022 and they are now considered a market leader in rights sales, content creation, and distribution of virtual media for live sports sporting events. The company focuses on regionalizing broadcast technology and implementing revenue strategies for some of the world’s biggest sports rights-holders including the top European football competitions and the world’s leading motor-racing championship. Existing clients include Serie A, La Liga, and Formula 1. Their working relationship with Italy’s Liga Serie A, enables ISG to deliver the largest and most technologically advanced, integrated virtual media sports service in the world, to all 20 Serie A clubs.
The company’s headquarters is in London. ISG also operates a Milan, Italy office and state-of-the-art innovation lab for virtual media production, data analysis, client services & technology systems testing. Burgess and Ragan will now lead “ISG powered by TGI Sport” under Jolly and will also work closely with the Board.
“We are delighted to be able to add Tony, Simon, and the ISG team to the TGI and Bruin family,” said Pyne. He added, “They are very smart, effective specialists who we believe in and will have the full gamut of Bruin’s global resources to push the business forward.”
TGI
In 2021, Bruin Capital negotiated joint ownership of TGI Sport by partnering with Sydney-based Quadrant, formerly known as Quadrant Capital. The business vision was to continue TGI’s expansion into an elite global agency through the use of proprietary media technologies to add to their core competencies.
TGI Sport is a global leader in sports technology, media, and marketing, connecting sports entities and fans worldwide. The combined operations span North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and its teams support around 3,500+ events annually.
TGI Sport has built relationships with many of the world’s leading sporting organizations, including UEFA, FIFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, Mediapro, Major League Soccer (MLS), US Soccer, Ligue National de Rugby, ECB, ICC, FC Barcelona, Manchester United FC, Liverpool FC, and Juventus FC. TGI’s businesses include TLA Worldwide, QMS NZ, and Sportsmate.
“This is a hugely exciting time for us,” explained ISG’s joint founder Ragan. “We now have the opportunity to build on the success of the last seven years and accelerate the development of ISG into a truly global player,” he added.
The addition of ISG expands the company’s worldwide presence and puts more resources against its parallel advertising (PADS) LED perimeter technology and hardware. PADS is being utilized across four continents by organizations such as UEFA, MLS, NZ Rugby, Rugby Australia, Liga MX, AS Monaco FC, and many more premier sporting codes.
“This step up with Bruin and TGI will allow us to grow faster, stronger, and more boldly,” stated Burgess, ISG co-CEO and founder, “as the commercial and operation pioneers in virtual media, our knowhow both operationally and commercially can be significantly leveraged by the expanded group’s talent, relationships and fiscal firepower…things are going to get really compelling for rights holders, media buyers and brands.”
Bruin Capital
Bruin is optimized to work alongside capital partners and management teams to accelerate the development and build best-in-class, global technology, sports, media, entertainment, and marketing companies. Company headquarters are in White Plains, NY and operates across five continents with 2100 employees working out of 34 total offices. They have an investment commitment of more than $1 billion added to an assortment of resources and global networks.
Quadrant Private Equity
Established in 1996, Quadrant is a mid-market private equity firm investing in companies in Australia and New Zealand. Quadrant Private Equity has raised $7 billion and 12 funds since inception. Its latest funds, QPE No. 7 and Quadrant Growth Fund 2, have $1,240 million and $530 million in equity commitments respectively for private equity investment Quadrant has extensive investment experience, having led over 80 investments in the past 11 funds (with 60 exits) across a range of sectors including retail, healthcare, media, consumer foods, financial services, eCommerce and other sectors.
Sports Techie, welcome to the world of sport tech played by the big boys and girls. Bruin has rocketed to the front of the industry by making impactful partnerships, acquisitions and investments. Add ISG and their virtual ad services to the company portfolio.
They dominate the industry space in soccer, football, rugby and motorsport. Might we see more North American partnerships on the horizon with the big four of NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, along with professional womens sports leagues, horse racing and eSports?
Odds are in favor of this and much more.
See you later sportstechie in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world!
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