Comcast-backed Atairos buys sports-marketing firm Learfield

Atairos, the $4-billion investment company financed by Comcast Corp., has acquired college-sports media firm Learfield Communications Inc.

Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in six to eight weeks, and Atairos will have a majority of seats on the newly formed board.

With contracts with 120 college-athletic programs, Learfield offers some of the same business services  as Comcast Spectacor in South Philadelphia. Comcast recently acquired full control of Comcast Spectactor from the family of Ed Snider, who died in April.

"We believe that our sector expertise combined with our long-term investment approach will enable the company to accelerate its growth initiatives, achieve its strategic goals and continue to deliver world-class solutions to its clients and partners," Atairos chief executive Michael Angelakis said in a statement.

Angelakis is Comcast's former chief financial officer, vice chairman and a confidante of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. He launched Atairos, based in Bryn Mawr and New York, earlier this year with Comcast's financial backing. Atairos has said it will keep its investments over several years. Comcast a first right to buy Atairos companies.

Atairos also has invested $250 million into online-deals company Groupon and formed a joint venture to invest in financial services firms. A partner in that venture is Vikram S. Pandit, the former chief executive officer of Citigroup.

Learfield, based in Plano, Texas, and was owned by Providence Equity Partners, offers a suite of services to college-athletic programs, including multi-media rights and sponsorship-rights management. The company also has a food-concessions business.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded Learfield's debt to "stable outlook" in May, saying that "acquisitions have ... grown the scale of [Learfield's] multimedia rights business and increased the number of different services that can be cross-sold to its client base."