Catena Media appoints financial adviser to prepare for potential sale of group
Affiliate’s shares leap by a fifth as Carnegie Investment Bank hired to assist with the shedding of assets or any forthcoming public tender offer
Catena Media has appointed Carnegie Investment Bank as financial adviser following the affiliate’s conversations with third parties over the possible sale of assets or a public tender offer for the Stockholm-listed group.
News of Carnegie Investment Bank being hired sent Catena’s shares surging 22% to SEK23.71 (£1.87), at the time of writing.
In December, Catena agreed a deal with Gaming Innovation Group to offload one of its flagship brands, AskGamblers, for a total consideration of €45m (£39.7m), with the transaction expected to be completed at some point in Q1 2023.
This came following a strategic review undertaken last year to streamline the business, with the Malta-based outfit revealing on 15 December that third parties had “shown an interest in acquiring all the remaining assets in a strategic transaction or through a public tender offer”.
However, the board announced that as of 10 January there have been “no firm or indicative bids for the group or any of its assets”.
Catena posted a massive 111% downturn in EBITDA for Q3 2022 and announced during the earnings call in November that a quarter of its European headcount had been axed.
Established in 2012 and employing around 450 people today, Catena is one of the largest igaming affiliate’s in the world with assets such as GG.co.uk, Squawka, Casino Bonus 360 and SuperScommesse.
It also has a significant presence in the US with the likes of Legal Sports Report, PlayUSA and various Play portals for individual regulated states.
Its US portfolio was swelled in 2021 with the acquisition of US companies Lineups.com and i1 Media for combined total of almost $85m.
Catena came second in the EGR Power Affiliates rankings for 2022.