With reach into over 17,000 US tennis facilities, 1 million registered current users and over 30 million transactions and court bookings completed on its platform, Foundation Tennis brings tennis market experience and expertise to Slinger through SaaS specific technology
BALTIMORE, June 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Slinger Bag (OTCQB: SLBG) ("Slinger" or the "Company"), a sports brand focused on innovating game improvement technology and equipment and with the vision to become a connected sports company, is delighted to announce its acquisition of Foundation Tennis (www.foundationtennis.com). Foundation Tennis is a pioneer in tennis software applications covering tennis club and facility administration and encompassing highly functional user and CRM experiences. Foundation Tennis started its business in 2017 and currently has over 1 million individual facility members registered on its platform. The US tennis market accounts for 17,000 facilities and over 20 million tennis players - out of a global market of approximately 100,000 facilities and 100 million players - both of which represent a significant market opportunity for future growth of the Foundation Tennis platform.
Foundation Tennis’s proprietary technology suite provides business services to the tennis industry, including operational and payments software as well as digital platform management (web site design, hosting, iOS and Android apps). Recently the company was named as a Platform Development Partner for Square, an exclusive distinction and significant recognition of its platform being the only Square partner specifically serving both the tennis and greater racquet sports industries.
“In my many years in the tennis industry I have experienced all that the market offers in such club administration and court booking services, and I have to commend Charlie, Jaana and George for creating a near perfect and all-inclusive program. We are thrilled to bring Foundation Tennis under the Slinger brand and in doing so to support Charlie and his team in building out his platform providing a compelling offering of facility and member services on a single user platform,” said Mike Ballardie, CEO of Slinger. “Today’s acquisition announcement represents a significant step in our brand evolution at Slinger towards becoming a leading connected sports company. We aim to achieve that by putting our users at the core of all products and services that we bring to the global tennis market, today and in the future.”
Tennis as a sport has seen tremendous growth through the pandemic, from a 20 percent jump in participation to a 40 percent increase in racket sales and 44 percent increase in new players.1 As return-to-normal measures are introduced throughout the world, tennis facilities will be looking to capture these new players and bring them in as new members. Foundation Tennis has built a robust B2B platform for tennis facilities with D2C capabilities for direct consumer engagement to drive business and positive user experiences for their members.
“We will now be better able to know and understand the specific needs of tennis players, member clubs and tennis facilities around the world and in doing so make use of this knowledge to drive monetization of our user base through offering a range of value-enhancing products and services,” continued Ballardie. “The Slinger Bag has been so well received across the tennis globe because of its core value proposition – transportability, versatility and affordability – reinventing tennis and making it accessible to all. With the Foundation Tennis technology platform, we will have an opportunity to provide a complimentary and streamlined selection of services with a similar value proposition for global tennis clubs and facilities as well as their members, across a new set of technologies.”
“Over the past many years, we have built and accumulated a diverse array of tools and software to best serve the tennis facility market,” said Charlie Ruddy, the Founder and President of Foundation Tennis. “I developed my first SaaS tennis management system back in 2001 with the intended goal to support the market and its software and technology needs. Foundation Tennis, which we began developing in 2017, represents the sum of our experience while harnessing the latest technology to give our customers a cutting-edge competitive advantage. Mike and the Slinger team have tapped into something special in the tennis market and we look forward to driving value and innovation for the entire industry together.”
Pursuant to the definitive agreement, Slinger has acquired all issued and outstanding shares of Foundation Tennis. Effective immediately, Foundation Tennis will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Slinger Bag Inc. Under the terms of the agreement Foundation Tennis shareholders will receive 600,000 shares of Slinger Bag common stock and additional 400,000 in two further tranches over the next 24 months.
The Slinger Bag is available to order now - to find out more about Slinger Bag, visit www.slingerbag.com.
For more information about Foundation Tennis visit www.foundationtennis.com.
ENDS
For Slinger Bag Investor Relations inquiries visit www.slingerbagir.com, or contact investors@slingerbag.com or 443-407-7564
For Slinger Bag media enquiries in U.K, Europe and Australia contact the UK Press Office, Joe Murgatroyd, Press@slingerbag.com, at Brandnation, +44(0)207 940 7294
For Slinger Bag media enquiries in U.S & Canada contact the US Press Office, Brigid Margeson, bmargeson@uproarpr.com, at Uproar PR, 415.939.8779
Slinger Bag Legal Counsel: Kalfa Law. Contact: shira@kalfalaw.com
About Slinger®: Slinger® is a new sports brand focused on delivering innovative, game improvement technologies and equipment across all ball sport categories. With the vision to become a leading connected sports company, Slinger® enhances the skill and enjoyment levels of players of all ages and abilities. Slinger® is initially focused on building its brand within the global tennis market, through its Slinger Bag® Tennis Ball Launcher and Accessories. Slinger Bag® has underpinned its proof of concept with over $200M of retail value in global distribution agreements since the Spring of 2020. Led by CEO Mike Ballardie (former Prince CEO and Wilson EMEA racquet sports executive) Slinger® is primed to disrupt what are traditional global markets with its patented, highly transportable, and affordable Slinger Bag® Launcher and its suite of connected app and SaaS services.
About Foundation Tennis: Foundation Tennis, founded by Charlie Ruddy, provides business services to the tennis industry, including operational (booking) and payments software as well as digital platform management (web site design, hosting, iOS and Android apps). In 2001 Charlie developed his first SaaS Tennis Management system, which was licensed to the Tennis Industry Association, marketed under the brand TennisConnect. Over the ensuing 12-year period, Charlie and his team implemented 600 tennis facilities, and provided the B2B backend technology for all the TIA digital marketing initiatives, including Cardio Tennis, Tennis Welcome Centers, Playtennis.com, Tennis Night in America, May is Tennis Month, Serve for a million, the Lever 2000 parts campaign – and many more.
In 2016, Charlie formed the team that is now Foundation Sports Systems. The company was incorporated in August 2017 and now has reach into over 16,000 tennis facilities on the Foundation Tennis platform with 1 million registered users and over 30 million transactions and court bookings processed to date.
Slinger Bag Disclaimer: Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty, are predictions only and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include the uncertainty regarding viability and market acceptance of the Company’s products and services, the ability to complete development plans in a timely manner, changes in relationships with third parties, product mix sold by the Company and other factors described in the Company’s most recent periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended, including those relating to the Company's product development, clinical and regulatory timelines, market opportunity, competitive position, possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, potential growth opportunities and other statement that are predictive in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which we operate and management's current beliefs and assumptions.
These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential, "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These statements relate to future events or our financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Attachment