IMG Invests Majority Share in Enetpulse

October 11, 2012

IMG Invests Majority Share in Enetpulse

IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, has bought a majority share in Enetpulse, the global provider of live sports data.

Enetpulse is the exclusive worldwide distributor of official live scoring data for the ATP and the WTA, the organizers of the top men’s and women’s professional tennis tours.

This follows IMG’s recent strong minority share in a new joint venture with Bloomberg Sports to provide enhanced marketing, sales and production assistance for both the existing Bloomberg Sports analytics products, as well as a new series of projects.

Michel Masquelier, President of IMG Media, said, “IMG Media continues to adapt to the demands of the media landscape in order to maintain our position as the only sports agency that can service every aspect of media distribution on behalf of our clients.”

“The supply of data to the sports business world is becoming increasingly important and Enetpulse, with their progressive vision, excellent technological infrastructure, key federation relationships and industry expertise, is a company who are at the forefront of this market.”

“We have strong relationships within tennis, in particular with the ATP, so this is a good fit for IMG and our clients. We believe strongly that governing bodies, promoters or personnel should share in any revenue that involves data used for digital entertainment platforms and predictive analytics from their sport.”

Leo Noer, CEO of Enetpulse, said, “After 12 years of operation I am delighted to confirm that my team and I will now become part of the IMG family. This announcement marks an exciting next step in the history of Enetpulse and we are looking forward to fulfilling a key role within IMG Media.”

“As the exclusive worldwide distributor of live scoring tennis data for the ATP & WTA, Enetpulse are already at the forefront of an exciting and dynamic time for the global sports data market. As such, we welcome the opportunity to now being part of a company that shares our vision and desire to be the market leader in this space.”

Murray Swartzberg, Senior Vice President, ATP & WTA Tour, said, “We are delighted that IMG Media and Enetpulse will be working as one to maximize the potential of data from the ATP and WTA. IMG is a company that has a long and successful history in the world of tennis and I’m sure the expansion of its media operation into sports analytics will be a huge success as well.”

Since announcing the five-year ATP and WTA contracts in September 2011, Enetpulse have secured agreements with several major leading operators for the supply of its data.

Enetpulse will become the data arm of IMG Media, where its purpose will be to service data exploitation within the scope of the IMG broad media representation agreements with governing bodies.

About IMG
IMG Worldwide is a global sports, fashion and media business, with nearly 3,000 employees operating in 30 countries around the globe. IMG’s areas of expertise are diverse and wide ranging: IMG College; IMG’s Joint Ventures in China, Brazil, India and Turkey; IMG Media; IMG Events and Federations; IMG Fashion; IMG Models; IMG Art+Commerce; IMG Clients; IMG Academy; IMG Consulting and IMG Licensing. More information is available at www.imgworld.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Enetpulse
Enetpulse was founded in 2000 and over the past 12 years Enetpulse have become a leading global provider of live sports data. The Enetpulse headquarters are based in Denmark with further dedicated teams located across Europe and Asia. Enetpulse cover all the major sports 24/7 and deliver fast and accurate sports content to some of the biggest brands in gaming and media across the globe. In 2011, Enetpulse announced their move into the provision of official live data services which saw Enetpulse awarded the exclusive worldwide distribution rights for ATP & WTA official live scoring tennis data. More information is available at www.enetpulse.com.

Contact Information:

Jim Gallagher
IMG-U.S.
(212) 774-4419

Gary Double
IMG Europe
+ 44 208 233 7425
+44 7768 825114

Simon Skarsholm
Enetpulse
+ 45 2169 0182