DAZN Group, the leading global sports entertainment company, has announced that it has agreed new financing arrangements with Access Industries, its principal shareholder, that will allow the Group to maintain its strong commercial momentum.
During 2021, DAZN’s global sports streaming service became the primary broadcaster of Serie A in Italy, acquired rights to LaLiga in Spain, launched substantial coverage of Bundesliga in Germany, struck a five-year global boxing deal with Matchroom Boxing and a four-year global deal with UEFA Women’s Champions League. The Group’s revenues and subscriber numbers continue to grow strongly as the business expands its offering.
This strong progress paved the way for Access Industries to recapitalise the business in December 2021. As part of this recapitalisation, Access Industries subscribed for $4.3 billion of new shares in the Group’s topco, DAZN Group Limited, converting existing preference shares and retiring shareholder loans.
This left the Group without borrowings at the end of 2021. Access has additionally subscribed for a further $250m of new shares post-recapitalisation.
“This backing by Access represents a strong vote of confidence in DAZN’s strategy, progress and future growth opportunities. We are also grateful for the continued support of Dentsu, our second largest shareholder. DAZN is leading the transformation of how fans engage with sport, has quickly become the world’s leading sports streaming broadcaster, and we are expecting another exciting year in 2022 as our platform diversifies into the true global destination for sports fans,” Kevin Mayer, Chairman of DAZN Group, said.
