Catena Media sheds AskGamblers in €45m GiG sale as focus switches to US
Affiliate agrees deal with Malta-headquartered firm with further sales mooted for financial trading business
Catena Media has agreed to sell its AskGamblers subsidiary and brands to Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) for a total cost of €45m (£38.7m).
The deal, made on a cash and debt-free basis, will be paid in three separate tranches: €20m paid on closing, €10m a year after closing and the remaining €15m two years after the deal closes.
The transaction, which is expected to complete in Q1 2023, includes two wholly owned subsidiaries in Malta and Serbia that operate the AskGamblers brand and the associated online casino brands JohnSlots and NewCasinos.
AskGamblers had intangible assets of €27.2m, as of 31 October, reporting a double-digit decline in its revenue during the first nine months of 2022, with revenue slumping to €12.9m.
Company EBITDA for the period totalled €8.4m, or €6.2m when central group overhead costs are included.
Launched in 2006, AskGamblers is one of the largest casino affiliate portals and, according to traffic tracking site Similarweb, attracted 459,000 total visits in April 2022.
Catena first revealed it had been approached by other parties interested in acquiring the AskGamblers brand in May, with the firm also confirming interest in other “global brands” and assets in its financial trading segment.
The interest prompted the Malta-based affiliate to trigger a strategic review of its European-facing business, aiming to understand the “best outcomes” for Catena and its shareholders over the longer term.
Updating the markets on this review, Catena suggested its deliberations had left the business with a “clear focus” on the more lucrative North American market.
“The group intends to continue streamlining the business in line with this focus,” Catena said in a statement
“This includes divesting from markets and assets, such as the financial trading brands and the group’s remaining European brands, which third parties have shown interest in acquiring. These approaches are currently under evaluation,” the firm added.
Expanding on this rationale, Catena Media CEO Michael Daly highlighted the “even stronger” financial position afforded by the AskGamblers sale, which would allow the firm to broaden its exposure and access to the US capital markets.
“Today’s agreement is a major step on our journey to focus the business on online sports betting and casino affiliation in high-growth, regulated markets in the Americas,” Daly said.
“I am confident that in Gaming Innovation Group we have found a buyer that will provide a strong environment for AskGamblers and the other brands and their talented people to develop and grow,” he added.
For his part, Daly’s opposite number, GiG CEO Richard Brown, lauded the potential of bringing the AskGamblers business into the GiG fold.
“We are extremely excited to take over the AskGamblers brand,” Brown said.
“Combining it with our media technology and operational capabilities provides a great opportunity to expand our global reach and deliver a path for AskGamblers to continue with its strong evolution. We look forward to integrating the staff and website assets into GiG,” he added.