Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises has acquired mobile technology outfit Experience in a deal valued at more than $200M. Experience, formed in early ’12, is best known for mobile ticket and experiential upgrades at sports events, working with a wide variety of top-tier outfits including Live Nation and Ticketmaster, MLBAM and the NFL. The company earlier this year
won Best in Sports Technology at SBJ’s Sports Business Awards. Cox early last year invested in Experience through a subsidiary venture capital fund designed to aid tech startups. As Experience underwent a significant growth phase over the past 18 months, it began to attract outside suitors looking to buy the company. In part spurred by that outside interest, Cox acquired the company’s equity from that subsidiary investment fund and several individual investors. “We got to a stage in our development where people were increasingly interested in us,” said Experience Founder & Chair Tripp Rackley. “But Cox has been a great partner, and they’re allowing us to continue on the trajectory we’re on and operate the way we want, which is great because we’re still just getting started.” Experience operations and employees will remain intact, he said, and the company will remain largely separate from other Cox holdings such as Cox Communications, AutoTrader.com and Valpak. Cox President & CEO John Dyer in a statement said, “Bringing Experence into our portfolio is yet another example of how Cox continues to embrace disruptive technologies and expand into new lines of business.”
