BRUIN SPORTS CAPITAL takes majority stake in TWO CIRCLES
Context
This transaction represents a strategic ownership transition wherein Bruin Sports Capital acquires a majority stake in Two Circles from global advertising group WPP, which will retain a minority equity interest to ensure continued network access and strategic client continuity between its global corporate brands and the agency. The acquisition materializes a proven operational partnership initiated in 2017 through the joint expansion of the NFL Game Pass platform across 181 countries, leveraging the target's predictive analytics engine to scale the acquirer's existing direct-to-consumer media investments. Under WPP's prior ownership, the company successfully scaled its core client roster and analytical frameworks; the post-acquisition growth agenda will prioritize aggressive deployment of capital into the target's machine-learning technology stack and the expansion of its data infrastructure into untapped geographic markets. Executive leadership remains intact under co-founder and chief executive Gareth Balch, ensuring absolute operational continuity as the business shifts its strategic focus toward comprehensive monetization of every core commercial unit within institutional sports organizations.
TWO CIRCLES, which reported an EBITDA margin of in 2019, is valued in this transaction at an EV/EBITDA multiple of , a level to compare with the average currently observed in the Business Services sector (11.6x).
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Target
Two Circles operates as a vertically integrated, data-centric sports marketing and commercial management agency, capturing and analyzing proprietary fan behavioral datasets to drive revenue enhancement for over 400 institutional sports properties globally, including the NFL, IOC, Formula 1, Premier League, UEFA, and FIFA. The business model features a dual-revenue architecture: a stable, baseline fee-for-hire consulting practice governed by multi-year retained services frameworks, and a high-margin, performance-aligned partnership division executing long-term joint ventures. These partnership frameworks, highlighted by an active 11-year exclusive commercial mandate with Ryder Cup Europe to manage ticketing, hospitality, and secondary market access, utilize advanced predictive ticketing models and automated inventory yield management to directly link the agency's financial returns to the top-line performance of the rights-holder. Operating across six global commercial offices including London and Melbourne, the firm relies on proprietary data architecture and cloud-based analytics infrastructure to process multi-million user data records, insulating its corporate earnings from the broader volatility of standard media rights auctions. Procurement cycles are driven by the structural migration of premium sports properties toward direct-to-consumer monetization strategies, resulting in a sustainable 92% client retention rate among retained commercial accounts.
Ent. Value
Equity Value
Multiples
EV / Revenue
EV / EBITDA
EV / EBIT
Historical Financials (USD)
Other operations with TWO CIRCLES
| Date | Acquirer | Target | Country | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/2024 | CHARTERHOUSE | TWO CIRCLES | UNITED KINGDOM | Marketing & Events |
| 11/2020 | TWO CIRCLES | TRM PARTNERS | UNITED KINGDOM | Marketing & Events |
REFERENCES
Valuation range: EV 20M - 50M USD
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Press release: view release
Target: two circles
Acquirer: bruin sports capital