Anyone who thought TGI Sport’s appetite for acquisitions had been sated was wrong. The sports tech, media and marketing firm recently snapped up a pair of agencies, Interregional Sports Group (ISG) and Brand Brigade, and today it announced the purchase of Sportseen, a London-based a rights-buying and digital advertising sales firm.
“The addition of Sportseen—and all three companies—embodies how we plan to transform TGI with aggressive deals in new spaces,” said George Pyne, founder and CEO of Bruin Capital, which along with Quadrant Private Equity owns TGI. “The team will have all the resources of Bruin to build upon this momentum.”
The moves are part of TGI’s plan to build out its media rights and sales operations. Under founders Chris Jones and Vasco Gomes, Sportseen built its business in rights acquisition, sales, creative and distribution of LED advertising, using integrated geotargeted and AI-informed advertising to connect clients with fans. The pair, who will stay with the company, assembled a client list that ranges from major governing bodies such as La Liga and the Football Association of England, Wales and Scotland to more than 150 brands, including McDonald’s and Visa.
“We are very pleased to have Chris, Vasco, and the Sportseen team join the family,” TGI Sports CEO Martin Jolly said in a release. “They are well-respected leaders who were ahead of the industry on the emerging opportunities in digital, LED and perimeter advertising. They bring yet another best-in-class capability to our new virtual advertising practice, and our rights acquisition and LED businesses will also benefit greatly with additional resources and expertise.”
Besides the connections and technology, the acquisition also expands the company’s collective resources, adding to TGI’s global footprint, which supports roughly 3,500 events annually. The hope is that the core businesses, particularly the three recent purchases, will be able to build off and benefit from each other.
“The space is moving quickly, with more and more rights owners pushing further into leveraging geotargeted advertising,” said Jolly. “It’s a complex space but with vast potential. With our capital, human and technological resources, we can scale quickly to match this growing interest as truly the best end-to-end partner for rights holders worldwide.”
