Better Collective "very strong" in North America ahead of Playmaker Capital deal
Jesper Søgaard responds to ESPN Bet sportsbook deal question in Q3 earnings call
Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard has stated the firm is in a “very strong position” in North America and revealed the affiliate is already doing business with newly launched ESPN Bet.
During the affiliate’s investor call following the publication of its Q3 results, Søgaard said the firm is well placed to further the reach of both existing and new sportsbooks that have an interest “in building a position in the American sports betting market”.
Its Q3 results showed North American revenue increased 24% year on year to €22.5m, with EBITDA in the region seeing a 54% spike to €3m and EBITDA margin at 11%.
Better Collective CFO Flemming Pederson announced on the call that the affiliate is already doing business with ESPN Bet following its launch on Tuesday (14 November) and that the firm is “off to a good start with them”, although, at the time of writing, no official statement has been issued.
When asked for a comment, Better Collective said it did not comment on deals/certain partners.
Søgaard revealed that this position of increasing strength has been the affiliate’s aim since entering the US market.
He said: “And that is exactly the position we’ve been focusing on building since the repeal of the PASPA Act. And why we have acquired quite a lot of strong sports media brands in North America with that intent of becoming the number one in the market.
“And I do believe we have that position, which is why we are also able to strike attractive deals with the important players in that market,” the CEO added.
Also during the call, Pederson ratified the affiliate’s position in relation to the pending acquisition of Playmaker Capital, which is due to be closed in Q1 2024, stating that everything is going to plan.
The CFO explained: “We definitely expect that to close in the first quarter. Since it’s a public company, there are process now where there will be, hopefully, shareholder approval.
“And also there are certain regulatory allowances that we need to get. We think that we will close the transaction in Q1 at the latest.”
Better Collective has gone live with its dual listing on the Nasdaq Copenhagen today (17 November), with an opening share price of DKK 145.2.