Chicago-based tech company STATS, which provides sports data, technology and content for sports leagues, players, and major B2B and consumer brands, has opened a new office in Limerick, Ireland, where it says it will employ more than 150 employees by 2020.
STATS, which unveiled the office on Monday, says it chose Limerick because the region allows them to collaborate with local institutions that are increasingly producing more tech graduates. Gráinne Barry will lead the new office as European, Middle Eastern and African Regional Operations Director, and the company says it aims to place at least 100 employees in it by the end of this year.
“Over the past eight months, Gráinne and her team have done an exceptional job getting our production and staff up and running in Limerick,” said STATS CEO Carl Mergele in a statement. “STATS is committed to driving innovation in team performance, fan experience and live sports data, and our new EMEA headquarters in Limerick is ideally suited for this. We are thrilled to officially add Limerick to our global footprint, and build a Limerick team that is as passionate about sports and innovation as we are.”
STATS, founded in 1981, began as a small startup tracking only baseball statistics. Since then, it has expanded to monitor more than 20 sports, ranging from football to sumo wrestling and cricket. STATS says it analyzes performance data from more than 100,000 games a year.
STATS has acquired five competing companies, including Prozone, BSports and TVT Video Technology, according to Crunchbase. And in 2014, STATS itself was acquired by Chicago-based Vista Equity Partners.
Earlier this year, STATS named Mergele its new CEO. He was previously an executive of Lexington, Kentucky-based Lexmark International, which manufactures laser printers and imaging products.
