Digital sports media specialist Perform Group has rejected a series of investment offers from US technology and media companies, according to the UK’s Telegraph newspaper.
Perform held discussions with its advisers at Morgan Stanley recently after the likes of e-commerce giant Amazon, social media website Facebook and video-sharing platform YouTube were linked with potential equity investments, along with traditional media companies, the report said.
However, Access Industries, which acquired Perform two years ago, has decided to finance the company’s expansion plans itself.
Earlier this month, Perform, launched DAZN, a new online streaming service for sports coverage, in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Its highlights rights for the Bundesliga, the top football division in Germany, will be exploited on the platform.
DAZN is also expected to launch this week in Japan, where Perform has acquired rights for football’s top-tier J.League for 10 years.
The newspaper added that Perform borrowed £175m (€203m/$229m) in the bond market over the past year to fund the first four launches of DAZN and is planning to launch the service in four more territories per year.