Better Collective announces acquisition of Playmaker Capital for €176 million

Better Collective, the leading affiliate in the sports betting industry, has received approval from Playmaker Capital’s shareholders for its €176 million acquisition of the company. This deal positions Better Collective as the market leader in South America and enhances its position in North America.

The approval was given at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on January 22, where 99.9 percent of the shareholders voted in favour of the deal. This outcome was anticipated, as 49.8 percent of the company’s shareholder capital is owned by directors, officers, and certain shareholders who had previously expressed their consent.

The acquisition, which is expected to close in February, will position Better Collective as the market leader in Latin America while also enhancing its position in the US market.

Playmaker Capital reported €55 million in revenue and €15 million in EBITDA for the trailing 12-month period in its Q3 financial report. The company’s portfolio includes sports media brands such as The Nation Network, Futbol Sites, and Yardbarker. In addition, Playmaker owns Wedge, a pure affiliate marketing operator acquired in 2022.

CEO comment

Playmaker Capital’s co-founder and CEO, Jordan Gnat, expressed his excitement about the acquisition. He stated that the deal is transformational for Playmaker and its shareholders, taking the company to the next level. He also highlighted the alignment of Better Collective’s vision to become the leading digital sports media group with Playmaker’s goals.

Better Collective aims to bring the post-integrated Enterprise Value/EBITDA of 2026e to below 5x, contrasting with the acquisition’s implied EV/EBITDA multiple of 11.7x based on publicly available financial documents. The company plans to achieve this through enhanced scale, increased product, tech, and marketing investments, operational synergies such as rationalisation, and portfolio improvements including the implementation of performance-based marketing across the business.

Progress of Better Collective’s acquisition of Action Network

This acquisition is the second-largest for Better Collective, following its $240 million purchase of Action Network.

In a recent development, Patrick Keane, CEO of Action Network, announced his departure from the company. Despite this, he highlighted the company’s continued growth post-acquisition. Similarly, Playmaker’s leadership team is expected to remain in place to guide the company’s future growth.

Keane expressed pride in what the team at Action Network had built during his tenure as CEO. He noted that while two-thirds of corporate acquisitions are deemed unsuccessful, Better Collective has bucked this trend with a profitable and growing digital media asset in Action Network.

When Better Collective successfully acquired Action Network in the early summer of 2021, Action’s revenue for the 12 months leading up to the sale had exceeded $20 million. This period included several months of full-blown COVID impact. According to an internal email from Better Collective North America CEO Marc Pedersen, the rapid growth has continued and revenues have more than doubled since then. Keane leaves behind a high-performing and fast-growing organization.

Keane served as the chief executive for five years, including during the lead-up to the sale to Better Collective.

Better Collective A/S (BETCO.ST) is trading at SEK261.00, up by 0.38 percent.

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