Wanda Sports Group has sold global endurance event organizer Ironman to Advance — parent company of Sports Business Journal — in an all-cash deal that values the company at $730 million. Orkila Capital will coinvest as a small minority partner.
“We’re a really big fan of live experiential businesses,” said Janine Shelffo, Advance’s chief strategy and development officer. “We’re very bullish about the value of experiences that involve stepping away from digital screens.”
Ironman operates more than 235 events in over 50 countries. “We’ve seen tremendous growth around the world and interest in endurance sports, and this company is the best way to play that trend,” Shelffo said.
Negotiations with Wanda began late last year, and the deal was finalized last Wednesday night. Bank of America advised Advance, and Credit Suisse advised Wanda.
Sports events face a growing crisis as coronavirus lockdowns put restrictions on public gatherings. “The team is furiously, right now, trying to reschedule all the races that were scheduled for this spring and has been really successful so far in getting those events rescheduled for the fall,” said Shelffo. There will also be a push to reach athletes in isolation. Earlier last week, Ironman announced a virtual race series that will enable competitors to train and even race from their homes. It will operate through a new digital platform, Ironman Virtual Club, that launches Wednesday, and the first weekend-long event will begin two days later.
Advance’s portfolio also includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, Turnitin, American City Business Journals and Leaders Group, which operates Sports Business Journal. Advance also has significant investments in Charter Communications, Discovery and Reddit.
In a news release, Wanda said it plans to use proceeds from the sale partly to pay off debt. Following news of the acquisition last Thursday, Wanda’s stock surged 41% to close at $2.80.
