Affiliate business XLMedia has reached an agreement to acquire US-focused sportsbook review website Sports Betting Dime (SBD) for $26.0m.
Founded in 2012, SBD operates as a multi-channel platform, providing a range of data and tools for novices and experts, including betting odds, trends, reports, futures trackers and analysis.
XLMedia said the acquisition would provide it with a US affiliate sports betting brand and strengthen its presence in the country’s legal wagering market.
SBD had been in the process of preparing its site to meet regulatory standards and, should the acquisition go ahead as expected, SBD will be able to leverage XLMedia’s licences and deals with operators to monetise its traffic in the nine states where XLMedia is active.
XLMedia will pay an initial $11.0m up front, together with up to $500,000 as a reimbursement of SBD’s operating expenses per month since the beginning of the current year.
A further $10.0m will be payable on the first anniversary of the deal, and then the final $3.7m after 18 months.
“We set out a clear strategy to develop and monetise a balanced portfolio of content-rich and engaging consumer-centric websites, with a greater exposure to regulated markets and a particular focus on rapidly developing and scaling our presence in US sports,” XLMedia chief executive Stuart Simms said.
The agreement comes after XLMedia in December also acquired US-focused sports gaming and sports betting business CBWG Sports. Simms said that the latest deal would further support CBWG and XLMedia’s wider US activities.
“We are delighted with the progress of the CBWG business in North America in the short period since we acquired it in December, and we are excited by the potential synergy value from leveraging the scale, footprint and skills of SBD,” Simms said.
“We believe the combination of Sports Betting Dime and CBWG provides the group with immediate scale and broad market reach at a time when US sports betting is experiencing significant growth momentum as additional states regulate and open up to legalised sports betting.”
To help finance the SBD acquisition, XLMedia has announced details of a series of share issuings.
First, a proposed conditional placing will seek to raise up to £19.5m ($27.2m/€22.8m) through the issue of a minimum 48,727,398 new ordinary shares. The placing will take place as an accelerated bookbuild process, with shares priced at 40 pence each.
XLMedia also said certain directors and employees intend to subscribe for a total of £509,041 for 1,272,602 new ordinary shares.
In addition, XLMedia has proposed issuing up to 7,503,200 new ordinary shares via an open offer to raise gross proceeds of up to £3.0m.
XLMedia’s head of North America, Ken Dorward, said: “With sports betting going mainstream in the US, we are delighted to welcome Sports Betting Dime to the XLMedia portfolio.
“We are better positioned than ever to deliver on our ambition to be a significant player in US sports content and betting, through growth in our owned and operated sites and expansion of our agency partnerships.”