Serent Capital has acquired ArbiterSports, a provider of sports management products to the youth sports, K-12 and higher education end markets, from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
ArbiterSports helps athletic departments and sports leagues simplify the process of managing athletic events, assigning officials, paying event workers, and informing athletes, families and fans. The company’s product suite includes ArbiterSports, ArbiterGame, ArbiterOne, ArbiterPay, ArbiterLive, Arbiter360, ArbiterWorks, and ArbiterMobile. The company’s customers include thousands of schools, sports leagues and associations that make nearly 15 million assignments to more than 500,000 officials every year using the company’s products. ArbiterSports is based in Sandy, UT (www.arbitersports.com).
The Arbiter assigning system was created in 1984 by Advanced Business Technology (ABT), at the request of the Utah High School Activities Association, who hired ABT to build a computerized method of assigning sports officials to matches and managing their assignments. Known as TheArbiter, the software was originally released on the MS-DOS platform, then for Microsoft Windows in 1997. Arbiter was released as a web application in 2003, known as TheArbiter.NET. The NCAA purchased the business in September 2008.
“The NCAA is very pleased to find a partner like Serent Capital to carry the ArbiterSports mission forward,” said Kathleen McNeely, Chief Financial Officer of the NCAA. “Although we are stepping aside as a shareholder, we are committed to continuing our partnership into the future, and we are excited to see the innovation that Serent’s investment will help fuel.” As part of this transaction, the NCAA and Arbiter have signed a multi-year service agreement to extend their partnership.
“I’m delighted to partner with Serent in the next phase of Arbiter’s growth,” said Jeff Triplette, Chief Executive Officer of ArbiterSports. “Serent’s business-building resources, focus on investing in growth businesses like ours, and education market experience will enable us to accelerate Arbiter’s growth trajectory. With Serent’s support, we plan to invest behind our existing offerings and customer support, expand our product portfolio, and broaden our sales and marketing reach in order to deliver even greater value to our customers.”
Serent Capital invests from $10 million to $50 million in service businesses with revenues of $10 million to $100 million and EBITDAs up to $15 million. Transaction types include buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital. The firm is based in San Francisco (www.serentcapital.com).
“We feel privileged to partner with Jeff and the ArbiterSports team in supporting the next several chapters of the company’s growth,” said Lance Fenton, Partner at Serent Capital. “ArbiterSports’ strong history, impressive client base, and strong track record in sports management lay a terrific foundation for long-term success. We are excited to work with the team to help accelerate the success they have had within their current offerings and pursue new adjacent growth opportunities.”
Serent’s investment in ArbiterSports is the firm’s fourth investment in the education technology and services space. Prior investments include Digital Architecture (2016), DiamondMind (2014), and C2 Education (2011).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | August 31, 2017