The acquisition of IMG Arena, the betting and sports data property owned by media heavyweight Endeavor, by sports data and technology firm Sportradar has cleared a final hurdle.
The planned takeover has now been approved by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regulator, which had initially launched a review into the deal in July and August (the agreement between Endeavor and Sportradar was first publicly disclosed in March).
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The CMA has not yet published the full reasoning behind its decision, simply announcing that the deal can now go ahead in full.
At the time the inquiry was launched, the CMA said it was investigating whether the deal could or would prove anti-competitive in the UK betting and/or sports data market.
It initially opened a two-week period of consultation around the deal, in mid-to-late July, before a full inquiry began in late August.
The Sportradar-IMG Arena tie-up is worth over $225 million overall and is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2025.
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By GlobalDataAt the time it was announced, Sportradar said the deal would enhance its content and product offerings and strengthen its position as a leading content provider for global sports such as tennis, soccer, and basketball.
The tie-up involves Endeavor paying Sportradar $125 million to take over IMG Arena’s global portfolio of betting rights, with the agency shelling out a further $100 million to certain sports rightsholders. Overall, Endeavor has spent close to $225 million to rid itself of the business, in advance of being taken private by Silver Lake.
Endeavor originally put IMG Arena up for sale (along with OpenBet) last August, as part of the final preparations for its privatization deal with private equity firm Silver Lake.
Sportradar, meanwhile, released its financial report for the second quarter (Q2) of the 2025 calendar year, in early August, headlined by strong continued revenue growth that has seen the firm increase its full-year earnings outlook.
Revenue across the quarter (April-June) grew to a company record €318 million ($367.9 million), up 14% year-on-year (YoY) on the equivalent quarter in 2024.
