Canada
Penn National Gaming to Acquire Score Media and Gaming, Creating North America’s Leading Digital Sports Content, Gaming and Technology Company
Transaction fortifies Penn National’s bespoke digital media and gaming strategy, creating a complete one-stop destination
Addition of theScore’s fully integrated betting and media platform into existing ecosystem will lead to best-in-class engagement and retention
Brings theScore’s cutting-edge technology in-house, providing Penn with full ownership of product roadmap
Establishes strong commitment to Canada; Levy Family will continue to oversee theScore, including workforce expansion and Ontario operations
Provides adjusted EBITDA accretion by Year 2, an incremental $200mm+ medium term adjusted EBITDA, and $500mm+ of incremental long term adjusted EBITDA upside
Penn National Gaming, Inc. and Score Media and Gaming, Inc. (TSX: SCR; Nasdaq: SCR) (“theScore”) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Penn National will acquire theScore, a leading digital media and sports betting and technology company, for approximately US$2.0 billion in cash and stock.
Under the terms of the agreement, theScore shareholders will receive US$17.00 in cash and 0.2398 shares of Penn National common stock for each theScore share, which implies a total purchase consideration of US$34.00 per theScore share based on Penn National’s 5-day volume weighted average trading price as of July 30, 2021. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is currently expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Upon completion of the transaction, current Penn National and theScore shareholders will hold approximately 93% and 7% respectively, of the Company’s outstanding shares. Penn National expects to fund the approximately US$1 billion cash portion of the consideration using existing cash on its balance sheet.
Jay Snowden, President and Chief Executive Officer of Penn National, commented, “We are thrilled to be acquiring theScore, which is the number one sports app in Canada and the third most popular sports app in all of North America. theScore’s unique media platform and modern, state-of-the art technology is a powerful complement to the reach of Barstool Sports and its popular personalities and content.”
Mr. Snowden continued, “We are now uniquely positioned to seamlessly serve our customers with the most powerful ecosystem of sports, gaming and media in North America, ultimately creating a community that doesn’t currently exist. Users will enjoy a unique mobile sports betting and iCasino platform with highly customized bets and enhanced in-gaming wagering opportunities, along with highly engaging, personalized sports and entertainment content, and real time scores and stats. We believe this powerful new flywheel will result in best-in-class engagement and retention.
“Importantly, the transaction provides us with a path to full control of our own tech stack. theScore has developed a state-of-the-art player account management system and is finalizing the development of an in-house managed risk and trading service platform. This should lead to significant savings in third party platform costs and allow us to broaden our product offerings – providing the missing piece for operating at what we expect to be industry leading margins. In addition to the synergies, we’ll be gaining access to theScore’s deep pool of product and engineering talent and data-driven user analytics which will help drive our customer acquisition, engagement, retention strategies and cash flows,” said Mr. Snowden.
“Operators that have achieved early online market share have done so primarily through first mover advantage, leveraging existing customer databases and significant marketing spend. We believe the long-term winners will be defined by best-in-class products, bespoke content, efficient customer acquisition, multi-platform reach and broad market access,” concluded Mr. Snowden.
John Levy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of theScore, commented, “This deal brings together two companies that share a vision for how media and gaming intersect, and we could not be more excited to join the Penn National family. I’m proud of theScore team and all of our accomplishments, and believe the time is right to take the next step and align with a company in Penn National with the resources and scale to accelerate our business. We are excited to join forces with Penn to form the most powerful media and gaming company in North America.
“We’ve built an innovative, technology-led integrated media and gaming business that has us poised for success across North America, including the highly anticipated upcoming rollout of commercial sports betting in Canada,” continued Mr. Levy. “With Penn’s support, we will continue to invest in building our Canadian operations, growing our footprint and expanding our workforce. On a personal note, Benjie and I are very much looking forward to continuing to head up theScore as part of the new combined company.
“We have been strategic partners with Penn National since 2019 and have come to realize that they have the same strong culture and appreciation for how to grow a business. Jay and his team have done a tremendous job building an exceptional retail business and online gaming platform in partnership with Barstool Sports and we are confident that by combining our leading sports media brand and proprietary technology, we will solidify Penn National as a market leader,” concluded Mr. Levy.
Jon Kaplowitz, Head of Penn Interactive, commented, “This is a significant milestone for Penn Interactive and Penn National. With the acquisition of theScore, we will have greater ability to innovate and offer a best-in-class product to our customers. Personally, I am excited to join forces with John, Benjie, and the rest of theScore team who have proven to be great partners and amazing thought leaders in our industry.”
Benjie Levy, President and Chief Operating Officer of theScore, commented, “The combination of theScore and Penn National creates a first-of-its-kind vertically integrated media and omni-channel gaming business, which brings together world-class technology, highly engaging sports content and unparalleled reach. With our accomplished team in place, this deal bolsters our ability to grow our already strong North American presence from our base in Canada and primes us even further to capitalize on the huge upcoming betting opportunity in our home country. Over time, we’ve built our loyal user base and relationship with fans by authentically delivering deeply personalized products. That is an approach that seamlessly fits with Penn’s current strategy and digital offerings and will provide for material long-term benefits as we collaborate to even more deeply integrate across our platforms.
“The transaction will provide theScore with immediate scale and resources, the benefits of which will enable employees to better execute on the combined companies’ business plan and deliver enhanced integrated product offerings to our customers,” continued Mr. Levy. “The transaction also provides theScore shareholders immediate liquidity at a substantial premium and an opportunity to participate in any future upside of the combined company.”
Compelling Strategic and Financial Benefits:
Penn National anticipates that the acquisition of theScore will provide adjusted EBITDA accretion by Year 2, an incremental $200mm+ medium term adjusted EBITDA, and $500mm+ of incremental long term adjusted EBITDA upside.
Bringing Technology In-House:
The acquisition of theScore will allow Penn National to better manage all critical aspects of its technology stack, leading to greater control over its product development roadmap, reduced costs, and an enhanced customer experience. It will also allow Penn National to drive margin expansion by eliminating fees and expenses currently being paid to third party technology and service providers.
Strong Commitment to Canada:
Penn National believes the Canadian gaming market represents a compelling opportunity for growth. Penn National intends to operate theScore as a stand-alone business, headquartered in an expanded Toronto office, that will continue to be led by the Levy family with the same operating philosophy that has driven the company’s success to date. The business will continue to utilize ‘theScore’ app and brand that consumers have come to trust.
Penn National was attracted to theScore, in part, for its ready access to a deep pool of Canadian engineering and technology expertise. Penn National expects to leverage Canada’s world class technology talent pool to expand theScore’s engineering and production workforce based in Ontario as the business scales.
Volumetric Cost Savings:
The transaction will create a further scaled North American sports, online gaming and media business. This broader reach will provide volumetric savings for content fees, payment expenses, and other services, including the elimination of public company costs.
Enhanced Customer Acquisition and Retention:
theScore is the third largest sports app in North America and number one in Canada, with highly engaged users spending 113 minutes per month in-app*. Early results show the power of theScore’s integrated media and betting ecosystem to better engage and retain users; theScore Bet users with theScore media app compared to theScore Bet users who do not have theScore media app produce 88% higher handle/user, place 3x the number of bets/user, and generate a 91% increase in day 30 retention**. This increased cross-promotion ecosystem between theScore and Barstool is expected to lead to higher revenue.
Expansion Into New Verticals:
This acquisition underscores Penn National’s focused, disciplined investment strategy which positions us at the epicenter of sports, media, gaming and technology and provides us with multiple channels for future growth. In addition, this transaction accelerates Penn National’s strategy to enter into other adjacencies that leverage the Barstool and theScore brands and consumer appeal, such as the highly coveted esports media vertical.
Financing:
Penn National will fund the acquisition through a mix of cash on hand and common stock. We expect the transaction, at the time of close, to be leverage neutral to our lease-adjusted net leverage of 4.0x as of June 30, 2021.
theScore Shareholder Support
Penn National has entered into voting support agreement with the directors of theScore, John Levy and Benjamin Levy, and Relay Ventures, a significant shareholder of theScore, under which they have agreed, subject to certain termination rights, to vote all of the theScore shares held by them in favor of the transaction, which represents in total approximately 30 percent of the existing voting shares of theScore.
Advisors
Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC and Code Advisors LLC are acting as financial advisors and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP are acting as legal advisors to Penn National in connection with the transaction. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Canaccord Genuity Group are acting as financial advisors and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and McCarthy Tétrault LLP are acting as legal advisors to theScore in connection with the transaction. Greenhill & Co. Canada, Ltd. is acting as independent financial advisor to theScore’s board of directors.
Powered by WPeMatico
Canada
ComeOn Group adds sportsbook to its offering in Ontario
ComeOn Group announced a significant milestone in its sportsbook expansion journey with the addition of sportsbook to their offering in Ontario following the successful acquisition of the required permits. This addition represents a strategic advancement in the Groups sportsbook growth trajectory where they are set to double its sportsbook business in the coming years.
ComeOn Group is one of 51 active operators in Ontario. The Ontario market has experienced robust growth since its launch, reaching C$6.7 billion in revenue in 2023.* By 2029, the market is forecasted to grow by a total of 29%, with 2024 expected to close with a 20% increase.
ComeOn keeps investing in its sportsbook business acceleration that is powered by its proprietary sportsbook platform and in-house risk management and trading team. As a multi product vertical operator, ComeOn is striving to give its customer base a safe and exciting entertainment destination and this approach is now expanded to their Ontario audience.
Juergen Reutter, Chief Executive Officer at ComeOn Group, said: “We are very excited about the opportunities this new milestone opens up for us. As a casino-led operator it represents a key part of our sportsbook strategy to double our business in the coming years. Like in any of our other markets, we are striving for a differentiated sportsbook entertainment experience that is powered by our in-house technology. Our goal is to deliver top-tier entertainment to our players while fostering safe and innovative gaming experiences.”
*Source – H2GC H2 Ontario Data 25.10.2024 (excl. Lottery)
BCLC
INTRALOT Announces New Project with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation for Online Lottery Platform
INTRALOT S.A. has announced the undertaking of a new project between the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the sole lottery operator for the Government of British Columbia in Canada, and INTRALOT Inc., its US subsidiary, for the provision of an online lottery platform. The project also includes the digitalization of the existing land-based network.
The solution will be based on the Player X platform, part of the Lotos X ecosystem, and adds to the company’s overall partnership with BCLC, which has been extended until 2028.
INTRALOT is a leading player in a changing world of gaming. With significant experience in looking forward and anticipating emerging trends, the company provides future-proof solutions to regulated lottery and gaming operators around the world.
Canada
IAGR announces Toronto as host city for 2025 conference
Hot on the heels of its most attended conference in history, the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) is excited to announce that its 2025 conference will take place in Toronto, Canada, from October 20 to 23, 2025.
The event will be held in partnership with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at the Westin Harbour Castle, offering stunning waterfront views and a premier, downtown Toronto location.
‘Fresh off the success of our Rome conference, we’re thrilled to continue the momentum with next year’s event in Toronto,’ said Ben Haden, IAGR President.
‘The IAGR 2025 conference promises to be another unparalleled opportunity for our global community to come together, collaborate and shape the future of gaming regulation. We’re looking forward to working with AGCO to bring it all together.’
AGCO CEO and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr, added, ‘We’re excited to welcome IAGR and its members to Toronto. This partnership provides a great opportunity to share Ontario’s innovative regulatory practices and foster meaningful discussions that drive positive change in the industry.’
Stay tuned for registration details early next year.
-
Africa5 days ago
South Africa: Tribunal Grants Lottoland Interim Relief – Orders Google to Grant Lottoland Access to its Advertising Platform
-
Balkans5 days ago
CT Interactive Shortlisted in Two Categories at BEGE Awards 2024
-
21VIRAL5 days ago
21VIRAL Integrates Air Dice Group Games
-
Balkans5 days ago
NOVOMATIC Presents New Gaming Highlights at the BEGE
-
Latest News5 days ago
Stakelogic Wraps Up Deal with Bet25.dk
-
Amusnet5 days ago
Amusnet Expands Latin American Presence Through Strategic Partnership with bet365 in Peru
-
Chris Christie4 days ago
Chris Christie bets on Texas to approve OSB in 2025
-
Balkans3 days ago
Amusnet Powers BEGExpo’s 15th Edition with its Latest iGaming and Land-based Products