XLMedia bolsters US portfolio with $26m Sports Betting Dime acquisition
Jersey-based affiliate buys offshore digital media company with more than 1.2 million monthly visitors
XLMedia has secured a $26m deal for US offshore sports betting digital media platform Sports Betting Dime (SBD).
SBD was founded in 2012 as a sportsbook review site and has since transformed into a digital media powerhouse with two mobile apps.
The brand had more than 1.2 million visitors in January 2021 and covers the core US sports of football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey, as well as MMA, golf and college football.
The purchase provides XLMedia with a leading US sports betting affiliate to add to its US-facing portfolio alongside CBWG Sports.
Prior to the acquisition, SBD operated offshore and had been preparing the site to meet US regulatory standards.
Following completion of the deal, SBD will leverage XLMedia’s regulatory licences to monetise traffic in the nine regulated states where XLMedia is currently live.
The deal is expected to complete on 22 March and will commence with an initial payment of $11m in cash, with a further $10m on the first anniversary and $3.7m after 18 months.
XLMedia CEO Stuart Simms said: “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.
“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.
“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,” he added.
Subject to regulatory consent, 29 SBD employees will join XLMedia when the deal completes.
Elsewhere, XLMedia has announced a proposed conditional placing to raise £19.5m through the issue of a minimum 48,727,398 new ordinary shares at 40p per share to new investors.
XLMedia’s share price dropped by more than 11% at the time of writing.