Absolute Sports, the parent company of Sportskeeda, on Wednesday, said it has acquired a 73.27 per cent stake in Pro Football Network LLC (PFN) worth $1.82 million (about Rs 16 crore) through primary infusion of capital and secondary stock purchases. Sportskeeda is a subsidiary of Indian gaming firm Nazara Technologies.
PFN is a US-based sports media company that focuses on publishing content around the National Football League (NFL).
The all-cash deal will take place using Absolute Sports’ cash reserves.
“We are delighted to welcome Pro Football Network as the newest member of the Absolute Sports family. This marks the beginning of our journey to create a comprehensive portfolio of sports media brands,” said Ajay Pratap Singh, CEO of Absolute Sports.
“Our flagship brand, Sportskeeda, has achieved phenomenal success, with an increase from 15 million MAUs (monthly active users) in 2019 to over 76 million in 2023, all while maintaining highly profitable operations. With this acquisition, we are happy that we have kick-started our M&A growth engine,” he added.
Singh added that the company is eyeing multiple acquisitions in the near future to further strengthen its position in the sports media landscape.
Nitish Mittersain, CEO and Joint MD of Nazara Technologies said, “The PFN acquisition kickstarts an inorganic growth strategy in addition to the rapid organic growth in revenues and profitability that the company has been delivering. Looking forward to the next set of exciting products and content the team will bring to sports fans all over the world.”
This marks the first acquisition for Absolute Sports in the US Sports Media market as it looks to bolster its existing user base and offerings in the US.
With an average of more than 5 million monthly active users, Pro Football Network is ranked 3rd amongst the top NFL-focused media sites in the US, according to SimilarWeb rankings.
“This is a huge day for Pro Football Network. For quite some time, we were looking for the perfect partner and Absolute Sports is just that,” said Matt Cannata, Founder and CEO of Pro football Network. “Their strategic investment and the resources they will provide us will supercharge Pro Football Network to levels beyond one’s imagination and allow us to compete with the biggest brands in the sports media landscape.”
