Vista Equity Partners is exploring a sale of sports data company Stats Perform, according to multiple people familiar with the plans.
Vista has retained Evercore to oversee the process, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the matter is private. Stats Perform, which works with franchises, leagues, media companies and sportsbooks around the world, is one of the largest firms in a sports data industry that is growing rapidly as gambling and new media become a bigger part of the sports ecosystem.
Representatives for Stats Perform and Vista didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Evercore couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Stats Perform took its current shape in 2019, when Vista merged STATS LLC with Perform Content. The investment firm acquired STATS, a longtime leader in sports statistics, from Fox Sports and the Associated Press in 2014. In 2019, it purchased data provider Perform Content from Perform Group (which is now streaming service DAZN), and merged the two to create Stats Perform.
The combined company handles official data for leagues and teams, and packages that data for media companies and betting operators. It also utilizes AI and machine learning to create predictive models. Its partners include ESPN, Google, William Hill, LaLiga and Bet 365.
If Stats Perform is sold, it would be the latest in a slew of major ownership changes in the multi-billion-dollar world of sports data. Genius Sports went public in April in a $1.5 billion SPAC acquisition. Sportradar’s $10 billion deal with a SPAC led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly recently fell through, and the company is now planning a traditional IPO.
Vista’s portfolio includes Stats Perform, event platform Active Network and ticket marketplace Vivid Seats, which went public earlier this year in a $1.95 billion deal with a different Boehly-led SPAC. The firm has more than $75 billion in assets under management.
Though the combined company’s financials aren’t public, Perform Group did release annual financial details. In 2018, its content group did $226 million (159.9 million pounds) in revenue. DAZN remains a minority shareholder in the business.
