Skores lands minority investment from PE firms ahead of primary LBO
Stags Participations and MI3 take ownership stakes in French affiliate, with capital to be deployed on international expansion and product development
Skores Media has added Stags Participations and MI3 as minority shareholders as part of a leveraged buyout designed for “accelerating the company’s development”.
The value of investment from the private equity duo was undisclosed by Skores, with the France-based affiliate confirming capital would be used to fund geographical expansion plans.
Skores has also secured structured debt agreements with Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and BPI, with plans in the offing to further develop the group’s existing product suite.
The affiliate runs its eponymous live scores app, as well as its SportyTrader and WinComparator sites, and horseracing app Turfoo.
The company boasts five million monthly unique visitors and more than four million social media followers.
Skores has offices in Paris and Lille, with almost 40 employees on board. The group came 17th in the 2024 edition of the EGR Power Affiliates rankings.
Stags Participations is the investment holding company of French business magnate Philippe Louis-Dreyfus and his family.
The group has invested in more than 30 domestic and international small and mid-sized companies since its founding in 2011.
Companies in the firm’s portfolio spread across agriculture, education, healthcare and IT and is led by former Linklaters lawyer Grégoire de Castelnau as MD.
Luxembourg-based MI3 was established in 2011 and is led by Christian Haas and Philippe Dhamelincourt.
Christian de Cailleux, Skores Media CEO, said the investment would allow the affiliate to fulfil its ambition of “becoming a global player in online sports media”.
He said: “Since the beginning, we have worked and invested relentlessly in the development of our products and the enhancement of our content to offer the best of sports information to our community and best cater to the ever-changing expectations of sports fans.
“Stags Participations and MI3’s entry into the capital, with the support of top-tier banks, bears witness to the progress made and the maturity achieved by our group, owing to the quality of the work carried out by all our teams.
“We are delighted that they are joining us in this entrepreneurial adventure and assisting us in this new key stage of our growth,” he added.
Stags Participations’ de Castelnau said: “We are pleased to support the founders of Skores Media in their growth strategy.
“Since its creation, Skores Media has shown sustained growth, and we are convinced that the group’s technological and editorial expertise, as well as its ability to capture international audiences, are all major assets that will make Skores Media a major player in the global digital sports information market.”