Better Collective plays down reports that it’s set to buy Spotlight Sports Group
The affiliate business says suggestions that it’s the favourite to buy Spotlight are “highly speculative”
Denmark.- The gaming affiliate business Better Collective has played down reports that it’s close to buying Spotlight Sports Group, owner of the Racing Post. The group said the suggestion, published in the Sunday Times, was “highly speculative”.
The newspaper reported that the world’s largest listed igaming affiliate business in terms of revenue was “odds-on favourite to clinch a deal” to buy Spotlight from private equity firm Exponent. It said that other companies in the running had dropped out. Exponent has hired investment bank PJT Partners to arrange a sale.
Better Collective said in a statement: “The article is highly speculative and given our defined M&A strategy and track record we are not surprised to be mentioned when there are rumours of sales processes in the industry.”
The affiliate business has made several high-profile acquisitions of late, snapping US-facing Action Network for $240m last year and, in March, it announced its acquisition of Canada Sports Betting for up to $23.5m of which $17.5m is an upfront cash payment and $6m a deferred cash payment contingent on certain deliverables.
Acquisitions helped Better Collective to achieve revenue of €177.1m in 2021, almost double that of the year before.
In April, Better Collective appointed Mikkel Munch-Jacobsgaard as director of investor relations. He will take up the role on June 1, replacing Christina Bastius Thomsen who has been made head of corporate compliance and sustainability.
Munch-Jacobsgaard was previously involved in institutional equity sales at Danske Bank and SEB, advising on equity investments in the Nordics.
Other recent hires at Better Collective include Adam Rosenberg as head of marketing and communications for its US operations, Pernille Holbøll as its senior director of group branding and media and Pablo Jensen as its senior VP of product and technology.
