Gambling.com Group to acquire OddsJam in deal worth up to $160m
Nasdaq-listed company expands into odds comparison with initial $80m payment for platform that also boasts arbitrage and positive EV tools
Gambling.com Group has agreed to acquire OddsJam in a deal that could be worth up to $160m as it once again flexes its M&A muscles.
The transaction sees Gambling.com Group acquire the brand’s parent company, Odds Holdings, with the deal expected to close on January 1.
Under the terms of the acquisition, Odds Holdings stockholders will receive an initial consideration of $80m, with a further $80m in earn-outs, based on performance through to the end of 2026, on the table.
The initial $80m payment will be made up of $70m in cash and $10m in Gambling.com Group ordinary shares.
The cash portion will be funded by borrowings under the company’s expanded $100m credit facility with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and Wells Fargo Securities.
The credit facility is formed of a senior secured-term loan and revolving credit facility.
The $80m earn-out will be based on OddsJam’s ability to at least double adjusted EBITDA for full-year 2026 compared to full-year 2024.
For 2024, Odds Holdings is expected to post revenue of $26m and adjusted EBITDA of $12m.
Gambling.com Group noted that, at its discretion, can settle up to 50% of any earn-out by using its ordinary shares.
As part of the transaction, the entire Odds Holdings team, as well as OddsJam founders Ankit Goyal and Alex Monahan and CEO Matt Restivo, will join Gambling.com Group.
Stanford graduates Goyal and Monahan founded the business in 2021 and added Restivo back in February.
The company added former Don Best managing director Benjie Cherniak as a strategic adviser in 2022.
OddsJam serves as a platform for real-time odds data and offers from nearly 300 sports betting operators.
The platform processes more than one million requests per second and multiple terabytes of data per day, according to Gambling.com Group.
OddsJam also provides a positive EV betting tool to allow users to find profitable opportunities, as well as an arbitrage betting tool, parlay builder and fantasy optimiser for PrizePicks.
Gambling.com Group said the expansion outside of its traditional affiliation channels would add “complementary recurring revenue from new and existing users and partners.”
The affiliate said its existing partner relationships would also “significantly grow” the OddsJam business, with the acquisition of also ramping up company free cash flow and margin.
Oakvale Capital served as the sell-side financial adviser and Cruz-Abrams Seigel acted as legal counsel to Odds Holdings.
White & Case served as Gambling.com Group’s legal counsel during the process.
Charles Gillespie, Gambling.com Group CEO, said the acquisition would help drive the business towards its $100m adjusted EBITDA target.
He said: “We are delighted to welcome the Odds Holdings team to Gambling.com Group as we accelerate growth towards our goal of $100m in adjusted EBITDA.
“Their talented team has not only built a state-of-the art odds technology platform, but managed to build multiple distinct products on top of that platform which have very clear product-market fit.
“Odds Holdings gives Gambling.com Group a suite of new enterprise products while OddsJam in particular brings a passionate and energetic new consumer audience to the group.”
Goyal and Monahan added: “By leveraging Gambling.com Group’s expertise, innovation and resources we will be optimally positioned to scale our technology and data-driven insights to reach an even larger audience of online bettors, including beyond the North American market.
“We’re looking forward to working with the Gambling.com Group founders Charles and Kevin and their team to create a deeper connection with our customers to enhance their online gambling experiences.”
Earlier this year, Gambling.com Group completed its acquisition of Freebets.com and other European and Canadian assets from XLMedia, in a deal that could eventually reach $42.5m.