Ironman Parent World Triathlon Corp. Acquires Rock 'N' Roll Marathons

Ironman owner World Triathlon Corp. today announced that it has acquired the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon series. With the deal, WTC adds 29 annual running events, including seven outside the U.S., to its growing stable of participatory endurance properties. Terms are not known. Spokespersons for Ironman and the Competitor Group did not reply to messages seeking comment.

The deal is not entirely unexpected. Since Dalian Wanda Group acquired the WTC in '15, it has been using a global roll-up strategy in pursuit of bigger global market share in the highly fragmented race business. In April, WTC CEO Andrew Messick told SBJ that Rock ’n’ Roll was a potential acquisition target. In '12, Calera Capital acquired the Competitor Group, owner of the Rock ’n Roll series, in a deal valuing the company at $250M. Since then, Competitor Group has divested triathlon properties and returned focus to its core running business, CEO Josh Furrow said in March.