Versant Media Group has agreed to acquire golf simulator business Full Swing from majority investor Bruin Capital for around $530M in an all-cash deal. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.
Bruin acquired Full Swing from North Castle Partners in 2021 at a reported $160M valuation. Full Swing is the officially licensed simulator of the PGA Tour, and it recently renewed as a technology provider for TMRW Sports’ TGL.
Full Swing will be integrated into Versant’s golf business, which also includes the Golf Channel, tee time booking platform GolfNow and membership program GolfPass. In announcing the deal, Versant said the acquisition will also “create opportunities to develop a unique ecosystem across content, commerce, training, venues, and performance data.”
Full Swing CEO Ryan Dotters will report to Will McIntosh, Versant’s president of digital platforms and ventures. McIntosh previously oversaw strategy for Golf Channel and GolfNow.
Gibson Dunn provided legal advisory services to Versant. Bruin was advised by investment bank Moelis and law firm Kirkland & Ellis.
In a statement, Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said his company -- which split off from Comcast as a separate public company in January -- aims to build off its “strength in golf” to “scale a multi-sports technology platform for athletes, coaches, consumers and fans.” Full Swing expanded into baseball in December with the launch of its portable swing-tracking KIT Launch Monitor product.
Last year, Bruin CEO George Pyne told Sports Business Journal that his firm had grown Full Swing’s software income and made replacement parts a source of recurring revenue. “And there will be an opportunity someday, I think, where you’re going to be able to bet,” he added.
The transaction continues a string of successful exits for Bruin, which launched in 2015 as the first private equity firm to focus exclusively on sports and recently raised $1B from Josh Harris’ 26North, TJC and others. It previously sold stakes in hospitality firm On Location, broadcast tech provider Deltatre and marketing agency Two Circles. The private equity firm still has investments across athlete representation, betting data, original content, turf management and other sectors of the sports industry.
