News & Insight
Posted on October 16, 2024
By Two Circles
Two Circles, the data-driven sports and entertainment business, announced today an agreement to acquire KORE, a market-leading intelligence platform for fans and partnerships, which will enhance the company’s proprietary technologies and support its unique data-driven approach to growing the value of sports and entertainment for fans and rightsholders.
Two Circles will serve more than 700 organizations active in sports and entertainment with the agreed acquisition bringing new clients including NASCAR, The Madison Square Garden Company and 118 of the 154 professional US teams from the “big 5” men’s leagues. Together, the combined organization will offer best-in-class products and services, underpinned by the KORE platform, to grow audiences and revenues in the digital era of sports and entertainment.
Two Circles’ acquisition by Charterhouse Capital Partners at the start of 2024 has provided the springboard for this new phase of growth, which includes the acquisition of content production agency Let It Fly Media in March.
Two Circles’ proprietary market research has forecast that the global sports industry will reach more than $260bn by 2033 with 46% of that annualized revenue growth being generated in North America.*
This latest development demonstrates Two Circles’ commitment to the region, where it has doubled revenues and tripled its employee base over the last year. This growth has resulted in significant wins in the region including the addition of the NFL, PGA of America and Kentucky Derby to its client roster.
Two Circles’ global expansion has also come with new offices in Germany and recent significant client wins including a ten-year contract extension with Golf’s The R&A to grow its ticketing and premium offering; a partnership with World Rugby to grow sponsorship and new direct-to-consumer revenues; and a new long-term contract with UEFA to represent the sponsorship and media rights of the largest commercial program in women’s sports.
Gareth Balch, CEO and Co-Founder, Two Circles said: “This is a significant moment for the sports and entertainment industry. The leading organizations will grow by knowing fans best and having a deeper understanding of where tomorrow’s opportunities will come from. The team at KORE, who we have long admired, have been pioneers in using technology and creating self-serve solutions to help organizations be more efficient in their approach to fan marketing. We believe that combining our businesses can revolutionize the industry we love, creating more opportunities and more revenue for our clients through smarter measurement, richer business insights and more actionable fan data.”
Stewart Lynn, Partner, Serent Capital, said, “Two Circles is the natural home for KORE products. We are excited to see Two Circles fuse KORE’s solutions with its already market-leading services. We know that their incredible team can take KORE products to the next level, delivering more services, data and ultimately value to clients.”
Chris Warren, Charterhouse Partner, added, “Since partnering with Two Circles in January, we have been excited to support Gareth and his team’s progress in implementing their ambitious growth strategy. This latest acquisition will complement Two Circles’ highly successful, data-driven approach and is another successful milestone for the business as it expands in key markets such as the US. We look forward to continuing to leverage our deep expertise in the business services sector and aligned strategic approach with the Two Circles team to drive the company’s international growth strategy.”
Alec Scheiner, Otro Partner, added, “This is as synergistic a combination as you will see in sports: Two Circles has developed a deep knowledge of sports fans across Europe using technology, insights and data and KORE has done the same in North America using its proprietary intelligence platform. Based on our experience operating professional sports businesses, we have conviction that Two Circles’ products and services can provide the entire spectrum of technology, data integration, insights and rights management to sports and entertainment organizations across the globe. It is a very compelling and complimentary combination.”
For more information please reach out to Victoria Tomlinson, Director of Marketing & Communications.
Victoria.tomlinson@twocircles.com
* https://twocircles.com/app/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Sports-Sprint-to-260B-Summary-A.pdf