adesso SE
adesso subsidiary Staige ONE AG to raise growth capital on the stock exchange / Investor roadshow starting in September

adesso subsidiary Staige ONE AG to raise growth capital on the stock exchange / Investor roadshow starting in September

Staige ONE AG (formerly: soccerwatch.tv/Staige) is looking to achieve broader marketing and monetisation with its business model of AI-controlled cameras in amateur sports. To do so, the Essen-based start-up (German securities number:  A3CQ5L) is planning to raise growth capital on the stock exchange in October. Staige ONE is to increase its current share capital of € 4.7 million by up to € 1.9 million by way of a capital increase in return for cash contributions with subscription rights. With the subscription ratio set at 5:2, shareholders can acquire two new shares for every five they hold, at a price of € 4.23. The IPO aims to generate up to € 8 million and fuel the company’s continued growth. All shares remaining unsubscribed after subscription rights have been exercised and additional subscriptions submitted will be offered to institutional investors in a private placement. The Staige ONE management will meet with investors at a roadshow organised by SMC Small & Mid Cap Investmentbank AG and present its equity story from September 2023.

The Sports division at the adesso Group is seeing dynamic growth. adesso was an early-adopter when it comes to the innovative use cases offered by digitalisation, and has supported and developed the Essen-based start-up Staige over many years. adesso ultimately built up a 38.1 % stake in the company and has fostered a strong mutual partnership with the aim of driving forward digitalisation in amateur sports. The artificial intelligence (AI) in Staige cameras can now process almost all types of sport, opening up potential for an ever-growing number of applications and monetisation opportunities. Originally designed to live-stream amateur football, Staige’s low-cost camera systems have now reached a level of maturity that opens the door to broader marketing. Thanks to the system’s 180° field of view, all manner of sporting events such as football, ice hockey and handball matches – as well as many other field- and court-based sports – can be streamed completely automatically in TV quality via the Staige video platform. The AI handles content direction, controlling camera zooms and pans and selecting which action to show. So far, Staige cameras have broadcast over 120,000 matches and the company has sold more than 1,200 of its systems. This means that Staige covers the entire digitalisation value chain in amateur sport. Clubs can reap the rewards of professionalisation provided by special coaching products (Staige Coach) developed in partnership between adesso and Borussia Dortmund.

Staige is now looking to leverage its already very attractive offering in order to expand its presence. The growth capital is set to be used to enter new markets, develop additional products for further monetisation of the camera infrastructure and broaden the product range in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Staige also intends to significantly increase its market penetration in sports and regions where it is already present. To this end, the company’s management is pursuing ambitious but achievable targets, including roughly quadrupling revenue over the next three years. This revenue growth will stem from the expansion of the camera infrastructure, advertising income and streaming fees, as well as additional services such as Staige Coach.

Staige will be able to continue relying on strong strategic partners moving forward. Besides its relationship with shareholders adesso SE and Borussia Dortmund, Staige also works with the German football association (Deutsche Fußball-Bund e. V., DFB), among other organisations.

adesso Group

With more than 9,000 employees and annual sales of EUR 900.3 million in 2022, adesso Group is one of the largest German IT service providers with outstanding growth opportunities. At its own locations in Germany, other locations in Europe and Turkey as well as at numerous local customers adesso offers consulting and software development services for optimising core business processes. adesso also offers ready-to-use software products for standard applications. The development of an own, industry-specific product portfolio opens up additional growth and earnings opportunities and is another key element of the adesso strategy. In 2023 and 2020, adesso was awarded the title of the best employer of its size in Germany across all industries. After having already achieved first place among IT employers in 2016, 2018 and 2020, adesso was ranked first again in 2023