Genius Sports buys free-to-play provider FanHub
Sports data giant inks first deal following IPO
Genius Sports has agreed a deal to acquire free-to-play (F2P) gaming, betting and social media firm FanHub.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal includes the entire FanHub catalogue of games, spanning fantasy sports, trivia, bracket challenges, pick ’em and polling games.
Founded in 2012, FanHub is built around the three core services of games, betting and social activation.
The business boasts operations in the US, UK, Australia and Ukraine.
FanHub already has links with several Genius Sports partner organisations, including the NFL, MLB, MLS, Betway, PointsBet, EuroLeague, Cricket Australia, bet365, Telegraph Media Group and News Corp.
“The acquisition of FanHub will provide our sports, betting and media partners with exciting new content platforms that entirely complement our established data, video and marketing solutions,” Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke said.
“This transaction is expected to expand Genius Sports’ global audience and reach while accelerating the convergence of sports, betting and media to engage the modern fan,” Locke added.
The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 2021.
The deal is Genius Sports’ first since it went public via a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) SPAC merger with US-based investment firm dMY Technology Group II.
The data provider has a $145m cash surplus and no financial debt on its balance sheet and will target US growth through M&A.
In its financial results for full-year 2020, Genius Sports recorded a 30.6% annual rise in full-year revenue to $149.7m.