Canadian sports firm to relocate HQ to Grand Rapids following Carbon River Capital investment  

Canadian sports firm to relocate HQ to Grand Rapids following Carbon River Capital investment  

GRAND RAPIDS — A Canadian company that provides timing and other services for endurance sporting events globally will move its headquarters to Grand Rapids as part of an investment from Carbon River Capital LLC.

The management buyout of Ottawa, Ontario-based Sportstats World, which has an existing office in Comstock Park, also puts Carbon River Capital LLC on the path to go beyond primarily investing in real estate deals by branching into different sectors.

“We’ve been involved in different businesses over the years and this is a way for us to effectively get involved in and expand what Carbon River is capable of doing, and it’s not the only acquisition we have in the hopper right now,” said David Levitt, a partner in Carbon River Capital who’s also a principal at Grand Rapids-based Third Coast Development LLC.

“When people get to a certain point in their career, whether that’s age-related or just had enough time in the business and they want to transition, we’re now in a spot where we can help by using this platform that we originally created through real estate deals, but we can do kind of any deal through that,” he said. “This is the first, we hope, of a number of deals as we expand what Carbon River Capital can do.”

Grand Rapids-based Carbon River Capital, formerly known as Blue Pointe Equities, targets investments in West Michigan, northern Indiana and Chicago, Levitt said, noting the firm has a pool of passive investors to tap for individual transactions.

Carbon River Capital wants to do deals with “established businesses potentially making a transition or at a spot where there’s an inflection for growth,” Levitt said. The businesses must be well-run and “well-regarded in their industry,” he added.

The opportunity to invest in Sportstats began a year ago when a friend introduced partners at Carbon River Capital to A.J. Mousseau, the company’s operations director in the U.S. who works in metro Grand Rapids. Mousseau mentioned that Sportstats’ owners, Marc Roy and Isabelle Fradette, were “kind of ready for a business transition,” Levitt said.

“We said, ‘You know, we haven’t used Carbon River Capital to (invest in) businesses, but there’s no reason why we couldn’t,’” he said.

They began working on a transaction a year ago. The deal closed March 31. Carbon River Capital made the investment in Sportstats through a special purpose entity, Sports Acquisition LLC, set up specifically for the transaction. Grand Rapids-based Rhoades McKee PC advised the Carbon River Capital on the deal. 

Carbon River Capital’s investment helped Mousseau with a management buyout of the company by raising equity capital, mezzanine funding and debt. Mousseau became CEO of Sportstats at the close of the transaction.

Terms of the deal were undisclosed, although a recent filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Sports Acquisition raised $1 million through an equity offering that involved six investors.

Roy and Fradette remain in leadership roles at Sportstats to support and provide guidance during the transition.

“Selling the company was a big decision but we know it’s the right decision,” Roy said in announcement of the deal. “We have poured our hearts and souls into building this business and after thirty years we are proud of what we’ve accomplished and the legacy we’ve created and are excited to see where the new owners will take the business. We have worked with A.J. for the past 10 years and are confident in his skills to bring Sportstats to the next level.”

Roy and Fradette formed Sportstats in 1991. The company provides timing for more than 1,300 races timed annually that feature more than 2 million athletes in 2019. Clients include The Ironman Group, U.S.A. Triathlon, Canada Running Series, Challenge Family, Clash Endurance, Professional Triathletes Organization, Ottawa Race Weekend, and Lilac Bloomsday Run.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to continue the legacy that Marc and Isabelle have built and to provide our clients with world-class service,” Mousseau said. “I look forward to building our brand, our services, and finding new and innovative ways for Sportstats to have a positive impact on the endurance sports community.”

Sportstats has offices Canada, the U.S., Thailand and Singapore.


EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to include the legal adviser on the deal.