Dazn has agreed to purchase Eleven Group’s global sports media businesses, whose acquisition it hopes will accelerate the firm’s growth plans.
Once complete, this agreement will see Eleven Sports and Team Whistle join Dazn Group, expanding the latter’s geographical footprint and creating an additional revenue stream, among other purported benefits.
In Europe, it will help cement Dazn’s position, most notably in Portugal and Belgium, but also in Italy and Spain.
Meanwhile, Eleven’s presence in Taiwan and other Southeast Asian markets will complement Dazn’s existing foothold in Japan.
Eleven’s Founder and Chairman, Andrea Radrizzani, who also happens to own English football club Leeds United, will join Dazn’s Board as an executive director.
He commented: “We have developed a successful sports media company in the last six years with Eleven, and we’re delighted that this journey continues.
“The merger will provide greater opportunities as a group to continue to build a global destination for sports fans, which was our mission from day one.”
In the same vein, Dazn’s ultimate goal is to become a “one-stop shop” for sports fans. To this end, it launched a new betting platform in the UK last month: Dazn Bet.
This merger will likely support the platform’s growth, most notably in the form of Team Whistle, that will help enhance Dazn’s social media presence. It will also gain access to expanded football rights.
Dazn Group CEO Shay Segev said: “Dazn has invested in building a revolutionary digital sports platform, where fans can enjoy the full range of interactive sport entertainment.
“We are looking forward to expanding these capabilities to new markets as well as leveraging Eleven’s capabilities in Dazn.”
Eleven Group and Dazn’s deal is subject to an anti-trust review, meaning they cannot currently provide a completion date.
