T20 World Cup digital rights group Engage in talks about sale
A digital sports marketing group which works with bodies including the International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed advisers to field interest from bidders.
Sky News has learnt that Engage Digital Partners, which is owned by its founder and a small number of external shareholders, is working with KPMG's corporate finance division on an auction after approaches from suitors.
Engage counts the ICC and its cricket tournament properties including the current Men's T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies among its clients.
England will face India on Thursday for a place in the final.
Engage also works with the New Zealand All Blacks and Real Madrid to help monetise their vast fan bases through digital content.
Gregg Oldfield, Engage's founder and chief executive, told Sky News: "We have been approached by a number of companies to acquire the business.
"As a result, we want to explore our strategic options for funding growth or a potential acquisition of the company."
"We have several interested parties in the process already."
Founded in 2012, Engage says it manages 500 million fans in aggregate across its client base.
It describes itself as the largest independent agency in sport, and is similar in some respects to - albeit smaller than - Two Circles, which was sold to a private equity firm
Engage has offices in the UK, India and Australia, and is due to expand to the Middle East later this year.
Insiders said the company was expected to fetch a price tag of up to £20m.
