WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (April 20, 2021) — Teall Sports & Entertainment, a Winston-Salem, NC and Atlanta, GA based private equity firm, announces the sale of Riddle & Bloom, the Boston based idea and access agency focused on connecting brands with the passions and experiences of Gen Z and Millennials, and Accorin, the Magento-focused e-commerce and multichannel marketing SEO, PPC agency to Wasserman. The strategic sale is a significant step for Teall as the firm narrows its focus to investing in and building national market-leading sports and entertainment companies.
Wasserman is a partner to the world’s most iconic brands, properties, and talent in their endeavors across sports, entertainment and culture. The company has acquired Riddle & Bloom and Accorin to provide an additional level of expertise in next-generation marketing that build on its central mission to transform the brands, businesses and careers of clients.
Ben Sutton, who founded and serves as Chairman of Teall Sports & Entertainment, is widely recognized as one of the most accomplished entrepreneurs and business leaders in the sports and entertainment industry. He is the former Chairman and CEO of IMG College and the founder of ISP Sports where he essentially invented the college multi-media rights industry as it is known today. He and Wasserman have known each other for years and are both actively engaged in the United States Olympic and Paralympic movement. “Casey and I have known each other for quite a long time and it’s really special for me personally to consummate this deal with someone for whom I have so much respect and admiration,” said Sutton.
Sutton shared further, “The Riddle & Bloom group of companies has really been a tremendous complement to the Teall portfolio of companies. They were instrumental in helping our leadership team and partners fundamentally understand the next generation consumer, a major focus in all of our enterprises. As we work to build market leading enterprises in sports and entertainment, we look forward to continuing our work with Darren Ross and the rest of the Riddle & Bloom team along with the great folks at Wasserman.” Ross, who served as the CEO of Riddle & Bloom affirmed, “The experienced team of entrepreneurs at Teall Sports & Entertainment played an important role in our exponential growth over the past several years. We are grateful for their investment in our enterprise and truly excited to join TeamWass where we expect our amazing platform to continue to expand and grow!”
Teall Sports & Entertainment recently released the formation of their holding company, Teall Sports and Entertainment, which is a family of innovation enterprises – REVELXP, Dyehard Fan Supply and Teall Properties Group (TPG) – all designed to dramatically improve the fan experience, engage and grow the next generation of fans, generate additional revenue by creating new sources and enhancing existing revenue streams, and help manage and maximize commercial rights. Teall’s group of proven entrepreneurs delivers best-in-class service and sales capabilities to more than 150 high school, college and professional sports teams and leagues.
About Teall Sports & Entertainment
Teall Sports & Entertainment is a collection of extraordinarily innovative sports and entertainment brands and services including REVELXP (national market-leading game day experience company), Dyehard Fan Supply (national sports/entertainment premium merchandising and e-commerce business), Teall Properties Group (national sports marketing and sponsorship sales organization), and a portfolio of digital services businesses focused on sports (OTT, data and analytics, digital fan experience). The company’s leadership team has extensive entrepreneurial experience building sports, media, marketing and entertainment enterprises that are committed to dramatically improving the fan experience, engaging and growing the next generation of fans, and driving incremental revenue for partners.
Teall is led by Ben C. Sutton, Jr. and an executive management team that built four national market-leading businesses in college sports media, seating, licensing and ticketing. Teall invests in, builds and manages complementary organizations that strategically align and work together to drive greater value for partners, sharing in expertise, thought leadership and networks.
Ray DeWeese is the CEO of REVELXP. REVELXP is the consolidation of Colonnade Group, Tailgate Guys, PRE and Complex Sports and delivers best-in-class service and sales capabilities to college and professional sports teams. Prior to REVELXP, DeWeese worked with Sutton as an executive with IMG College, now Learfield IMG College. His tenure started at Ohio State IMG Sports Marketing project where he was General Manager. He later became Senior Vice President for the Midwest region at IMG College, and was then promoted to Executive Vice President of Learfield IMG College.
Scott Killian serves as the CEO of Dyehard Fan Supply, the premier premium event merchandiser for professional sports leagues and colleges. Prior to joining Dyehard, Killian served as senior vice president, private label for Follett. Follett is a Fortune 200 private corporation that operates more than 1,200 college and university bookstores in North America and is one of the largest retailers of college licensed apparel in the industry. Earlier in his career, Killian worked in executive management roles at several licensed products and e-commerce companies including Fanatics Retail Group and FanBuzz.
Teall Properties Group (TPG) is led by Mike Wolfert. TPG is a sponsorship sales company led by group of industry leaders who understand the dynamic athletics marketplace, have key industry relationships and a drive to reinvent the model to better align with changing brands and market needs. Prior to TPG, Wolfert served as senior vice president of business development of the Collegiate Services Division of Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment since early 2016. Under the leadership of Wolfert, Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment’s Collegiate Services Division experienced significant growth by going from representing half a dozen university multi-media properties to more than 30 in thirty months. Before that, he spent 15 years working with Sutton in management roles at ISP Sports and IMG College.
For more information, please visit TeallCapital.com.