Playfly Sports, a Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based sports media, marketing, and technology company, has secured a $250 million senior credit facility from Bain Capital Private Credit Group.
Bain Capital’s Private Credit Group acted as the lead lender and administrative agent for the financing. The company plans to use the funds to support continued growth and expand its sports media, sponsorship, technology, ticketing, and fan engagement services.
Led by CEO Craig Sloan, Playfly Sports helps sports rights holders and brands generate revenue from highly engaged audiences. Its platform uses data, technology, and marketing solutions to create new revenue opportunities across professional, collegiate, and youth sports.
Playfly works with more than 2,000 brands, 100+ professional sports teams and leagues, and 65+ college athletic departments. The company says its fan engagement platform reaches more than 85% of U.S. sports fans.
Founded in 2020, Playfly has expanded its business through a number of partnerships and deals. These include working with the NCAA on local sponsorship sales, helping connect NBA teams with media companies, and managing sponsorship opportunities for the Kansas City Chiefs in the U.K. and Ireland.
The company has also become the exclusive sponsorship development partner of the new Pac-12, while expanding its streaming advertising technology and signing deals with universities including Texas A&M, Virginia, Cincinnati, Washington State, Butler, DePaul, and Coastal Carolina.
“We are pleased to deepen our relationship with Access through this investment and support Playfly’s continued growth,” said Brad Charchut, Partner at Bain Capital Credit. “Access has a strong track record of building and scaling market-leading businesses, and we have valued our partnership across multiple transactions over the years.”
“Playfly has built a differentiated platform across sports media, sponsorship, and technology, helping rights holders and brands create greater value from highly engaged audiences,” said Megan McKenzie, Vice President at Bain Capital Credit. “In a dynamic and increasingly complex sports landscape, we continue to see opportunities to invest in businesses that help bring together key participants across the industry. We’re excited to support Playfly and Access as they continue to execute on this next phase of growth.”
Playfly is backed by Access Holdings and has grown to approximately 1,000 employees across 43 U.S. states and international markets.
The new financing gives Playfly additional capital to expand its offerings and capture more opportunities as sports media, sponsorship, and fan engagement continue to evolve.
