N.Y.-based Sportvision has agreed to a stock-for-stock
deal to acquire Coach's Edge, which develops enhanced
computer animation technology for Internet and sports
broadcasting. Sportvision is best known for its 1st & Ten
line seen during NFL games, while Coach's Edge is recognized
for its Virtual Playbook technology that uses 3-D
representations of players' movements on the field or court.
Morgan Stanley is Sportvision's financial advisor, while
Crescendo Capital Partners represented Coach's Edge
(Sportvision). Sportvision CEO Bill Squadron said that the
company has about 40 employees and "will fold in Coach's
Edge's roughly two dozen employees" with additional hires to
come. The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Noah Liberman writes that
Squadron "confirmed reports" that Sportvision has received
between $25-35M in private funding and "is angling toward an
eventual IPO" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/17 issue). In
K.C., David Hayes reports that the combined company "will
carry" the Sportvision name, although "some products will
continue to carry the Coach's Edge trademark." The two
companies will have contracts with ABC, CBS, TNT along with
the NFL, NBA and NASCAR (K.C. STAR, 4/18).
