ESA Acquisition Strengthens Opta's Product Set
01st November 2009
Opta has announced the acquisition of sports media specialist ESA in a deal which further underlines the company’s expansion strategy.
The move will improve Opta’s capability to deliver sports data to print media and will also enhance the company’s editorial offer. ESA will benefit from the availability of richer data to improve its existing products and to develop new services.
“ESA is a great fit for us as they have a good page-ready business and they have a lot of experience in dealing with media customers whose demands are different from our own customers,” said Aidan Cooney, Chief Executive Officer of Opta.
ESA is based in Leeds and will move the short distance to join the team at Opta’s new premises in the same city. Andrew Cox, Managing Director of ESA, becomes Opta’s Director (Strategic Partnerships).
“We have brought with us all of the full-time staff from ESA’s Leeds office,” said Andrew.
“There is an incredible amount of synergy between the two businesses and the result will be a significant increase in our data and editorial capacity.”
ESA has established a strong track record for its work with regional and national newspapers, adding print products for sports sponsors in recent years and also moving into the broadcast and digital arenas.
“It is a competitive market and there is a constant need to innovate and to invest in technology. We have seen the products that Opta can bring to the market and we know there are areas in which we can add value,” said Andrew.
“One of the reasons Opta identified us was the inherent belief within ESA of the importance of accuracy and attention to detail. That is something we have always had in common with Opta.”
Aidan added: “It’s a case of marrying the experience of Opta in delivering data to new technologies with the traditional business of supplying print.
“We already have some high profile products for national newspapers and this enables us to build on those in the UK and overseas.”
