Sportradar AG has acquired the sportsman media holding GmbH, one of Europe’s leading sports media rights, marketing and platform companies, from founders and chief executive officers Thomas Krohne and Karl Wieseneder. Under the arrangement, Sportradar also will acquire the international online sports Tv LAOLA1.tv, the operator of Austria’s largest sports website LAOLA1 Multimedia and the live streaming and video-platform production service media productions. The purchase will make Sportradar AG one of the largest single providers of audiovisual sports offering, including premium content such as Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Copa del Rey in football, CBA basketball, CEV volleyball, ITF tennis and KHL ice hockey, as well as table tennis, badminton and many other events and series.
Last year, the sportsman and Sportradar delivered more than 27,000 live broadcasts to the betting and gaming industry. The deal is expected to be approved by regulators and close no later than next month.
Thomas Krohne, co-chief executive officer of the sportsman media holding, said, “We have chosen an ideal buyer for our group of companies with Sportradar. The sports rights, production and platform business we set up perfectly complements that of Sportradar. The clear synergies give us confidence that the company we built up and our staff have very good future prospects under Carsten Koerl’s stewardship. This was important to us when choosing this buyer. The size and international orientation of Sportradar offer the ideal conditions for successfully developing the business we set up. “
Karl Wieseneder, founder and co-chief executive officer of the sportsman media holding, added, “After 15 years of building up LAOLA1 and over 10 years together with Thomas Krohne as an associate partner and CEO of the group, we have decided to put our company into new hands. We look back proudly on an entrepreneurial achievement that has been a great deal of fun that we enjoyed together with our employees and has shaped our lives for more than 10 years. We thank our employees and partners, without whom this company’s development would not have been possible. Thomas Krohne and I now want a fresh entrepreneurial challenge with all the freedom that it brings with it.”
Carsten Koerl, Sportradar AG chief executive officer, noted, “Even after 15 years in the betting industry, Sportradar never rests on its laurels. Although we already provide the market-leading offering in data, odds and trading services, this agreement marks a shift. It will upgrade our audiovisual portfolio and will ensure that our clients will have the broadest and best range of solutions to choose from, whether on an individual basis, or whether on a bespoke bundle of solutions basis. But it also provides a unique opportunity to explore new synergies where we can cross-pollinate our various products and services. Let’s also not forget the possibilities the Laola1 platforms present: Through these channels, we will explore how we can provide rights holders and industry partners the maximum awareness and reach in combination with some of our unique data services and solutions.”
Krohne and Wieseneder will continue with the holding investments that are not a part of the sportsman core businesses, including WRC Promoter GmbH, a joint venture with Red Bull; Werder Sports, Bremen’s largest sports and fitness facility; DuoDomi Objekteinrichtungen property specialists; the Fanreport Holding; and other joint ventures.
