Goal.com Owners Footballco Acquire Calciomercato.com To Add To Portfolio
August 23, 2021
Footballco has acquired Italy’s leading digital football platform, CalcioMercato.com. The deal adds the business to Footballco’s current portfolio of global and local brands, including Goal, the world’s most popular digital football destination.
Footballco was formed in 2020, following the spinoff of DAZN’s leading football publishing division and subsequent majority investment by Integrated Media Company (IMC), an affiliate of US private equity giant TPG.
Through its current roster of football media brands, Footballco reaches more than 400 million football fans around the world each month, which will now be bolstered by CalcioMercato.com’s 12 million monthly visitors.
CalcioMercato.com will take Footballco’s existing position in the market, currently supported via Goal’s Italian edition and its distributed video player, to a new level in what is a strategic and growing digital economy, with Euro 2020’s newly crowned champions.
Juan Delgado, CEO of Footballco said: “This represents a strategic acquisition for us, not only making Footballco the top football platform in Italy, but also in complementing our domestic European footprint – the world’s largest digital football advertising market”.
“While CalcioMercato.com’s audience is sizable, it was important for us to complement and add to our engagement across the continent, now having local champion brands in Germany, Netherlands, UK and Italy, hosting three of the four most competitive and valuable football leagues in the world.
“We recognise that being number one both pan-regionally in Europe, but also domestically in top football markets, is key. Being able to offer brands and other partners both local and pan-regional opportunities to reach football fans, makes us the best option to engage with the sport.”
Carlo Pallavicino, founder, majority shareholder, publisher of Calciomercato.com said:
“Over the past 25 years Calciomercato.com has experienced constant growth and established itself as the daily reference point for millions of passionate football fans.
“Becoming part of Footballco means that we can build on these strong foundations and service both brands and our fans in ways that have not been possible before.
“It should not go unrecognised that the reason we are where we are today is because of the hard work and creativity of our CEO, Cosimo Baldini and the combination of experienced editorial leadership from our director and seasoned journalist, Stefano Agresti and the passion and dedication of our editorial staff.”
Advising on the acquisition were financial advisers Vitale and Co.
As well as being home to some of the biggest football media brands in the world, Footballco helps brands to find their voice in football by leveraging a global understanding of the modern fan.
