Learfield is acquiring Spectra Ticketing and Fan Engagement, the Comcast Spectacor subsidiary, and will restore the company’s name to Paciolan.
For years, Paciolan has been the leader in collegiate ticketing by providing the software platform for most of the schools at the FBS level. The firm was renamed in 2015 when Comcast Spectacor rebranded its subsidiary companies to Spectra.
But the Paciolan name will resurface this week during activities at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics’ annual convention in Orlando.
“Frankly, Paciolan is what everybody calls it anyway,” Learfield CEO and President Greg Brown said, referring to the name the company had used since it was founded in 1980.
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Alabama is among the 76 FBS colleges on Paciolan’s ticketing platform.
Photo by: AP IMAGES
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Terms of the deal were not released, but Paciolan and its 300 employees will be staying in its Irvine, Calif., headquarters and the senior leadership, led by CEO Dave Butler and President Kim Damron, will remain intact. Learfield has maintained a “business as usual” approach with its acquisitions by leaving management in place and allowing the companies to keep their name.
The deal with such a well-established company puts Learfield into ticketing software, an aspect of college business in which it didn’t previously have a presence. Learfield also is a partner in IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions, but that joint venture is more sales and marketing.
While Paciolan’s ownership is changing from Comcast Spectacor to Learfield, the firm is essentially staying in the Comcast family as part of the move. That’s because Learfield is owned by Atairos Group, an investment fund financially backed by Comcast Corp. and managed by Chairman and CEO Michael Angelakis.
Paciolan and Learfield both have deep roots in the college space, so it made sense to move the ticketing software business into the growing Learfield fold, both companies said.
“As we looked at Learfield and Paciolan, these two companies coming together was the best way to keep them growing,” said David Scott, CEO and president of Comcast Spectacor.
Paciolan was founded 37 years ago by Jane Kleinberger as an accounting software company. Years later, as Paciolan moved into college athletics, the company dominated the space with its ticketing and fundraising platform, marketing services and, more recently, data analytics.
“The Paciolan name still resonates, so what you’ve got now is two powerhouses coming together,” Damron said.
Of the 125 schools where Learfield has the multimedia rights, Paciolan has the ticketing business at 45.
In total, Paciolan has 120 colleges on its ticketing platform, 76 of which are at the FBS level, including Alabama, Florida State and nine of the Pac-12 schools. The firm, which also works with a number of theaters and performing arts centers, in recent weeks also added Houston, Massachusetts and Washington.
The ticketing business will reside in Learfield’s extended business line. That group of businesses is managed by Chief Operating Officer Marc Jenkins and includes digital company Sidearm Sports, SME Branding, recently acquired Mogo Interactive, marketing and signage company ANC and other college-focused businesses outside the realm of Learfield’s core revenue-generator, multimedia rights.
The acquisition continues Learfield’s buying spree, which is now up to 12 companies in the last 3 1/2 years. The Plano, Texas, firm went through a huge growth spurt leading up to its own sale last fall, when Atairos won it with a $1.3 billion bid.
Learfield and Paciolan’s travels in the same Comcast circles helped facilitate this deal.
“We’ve liked Paciolan from afar for a long time. It only made sense that we’d approach them,” Brown said. “We’re not Comcast; we’re sort of one step removed — we’re cousins, if you will — but it does put us in constant contact.”
Brown described Angelakis and the Atairos team as active in the negotiations, as were Learfield’s Jenkins, Paciolan’s Damron and Butler, and Comcast Spectacor’s Scott.
Learfield, which is now up to 1,300 employees, remains in talks with other Comcast properties, such as NBC, about ways to work together, Brown said.
