Goalline, the Halifax company that provides websites to youth sports leagues, has been bought Blue Star Sports for an undisclosed price, and together they plan to develop an integrated technology platform for minor sports.
Though no terms were revealed, this may be the largest tech deal in the region in a few years given Goalline’s vast reach and the massive capital backing the merged company.
Founded in 2002, Goalline is a leading provider of web software and mobile applications for youth sport organizations. It has more than 10 million users and is best known for its easy-to-use web pages for sports leagues. Its website lists 30 employees.
Based in Frisco, Texas, Blue Star Sports is an integrated software and payments provider to youth sports organizations. Backed by Bain Capital, Worldpay, Providence Equity Partners and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, the company has been on a buying spree lately. Last month, it bought Toronto’s Pointstreak Sports Technologies.
“We set out to find the best and brightest technology companies in youth sports so that we could create and offer our customers the most advanced customer-centric solution in the market,” said Blue Star Founder and CEO Rob Wechsler in a statement. “Adding Goalline to the Blue Star Sports portfolio accomplishes that.”
The companies indicated that Blue Star will continue to grow the operation and help introduce the Goalline product to new customers – which can happen given that Blue Star has millions of users.
The most important aspect of the deal has to be the capital backing the merged group. While Jones is the best known investor as the owner of the high-profile Cowboys, the backing by Bain and Providence brings even greater firepower. Bain Capital has US$75 billion under management, while Providence has US$45 billion under management. And these are private equity funds, not VC firms, so they tend to take a longer view of developing their portfolio companies.
Worldpay is a portfolio company of Bain Capital that provides single card and non-card electronic payment processing services to businesses.
“From the beginning, the vision for Blue Star Sports has been to professionalize the experience of youth sports organizations and to simultaneously make it easier for anyone involved to manage the sport,” said Wechsler. “With GoalLine’s leading customer service and performance capabilities, we can now provide a seamless customer experience and a more unified offering.”
A former Dalhousie University hockey player and computer science student, Dickie started Goalline when he was a student posting college hockey results online. He grew the business through revenue. The company never took on venture capital investors. The company has strength in the minor hockey market and its clients include Volleyball Canada, Football Canada, the Halifax Ball Hockey League and Ringette Alberta.
“The Blue Star Sports team will add valuable expertise in registration, payments, scheduling and social platforms, and joining forces with some of the leaders in the industry will result in unparalleled products and services for our current and new customers,” said Dickie in the statement. “The entire team at Goalline is very proud and excited about being part of one of the biggest sports technology companies in the world.”
