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Genius Sports Limited confirms a $1.2 billion deal to acquire sports and gambling media network Legend, creating a “fully integrated sports and gaming media network”.
Genius Sports announced the $1.2 billion acquisition of Legend on February 5, with $900 million paid out at closing and an earnout of up to $300 million. The big-figure deal is anticipated to bring in $1.1 billion in Group Revenue for Genius Sports, as well as between $320 and $330 million in Group Adjusted EBITDA with approximately 50% free cash flow.
The company is eyeing Legend’s monetization of sports audiences across its network, making mention of “world-class marketing technology powering owned and operated digital properties” and partnerships with major media brands like Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports. It seems that Genius Sports is looking to expand its reach further, tapping into Legend’s connections with existing sportsbooks, gambling products, and advertisers as the sports betting industry continues to thrive in the US.
“This deal accelerates our strategic and financial objectives, supercharges fan monetization, and builds a fully integrated sports and gaming media network,” said CEO of Genius Sports Mark Locke. “For Genius Sports and our global partners, it delivers more data, more audience, more inventory and greater monetization of sports fans. The acquisition of Legend will drive higher margins and stronger free cash flow, positioning Genius Sports to immediately transform the market and grow the size and scale of our business.”
What will this partnership look like in practice?
The press release suggests that Genius Sports will seek to blend Legend’s network into FANHub, the company’s sports fan activation platform.
“Joining forces with Genius Sports brings together two world-class teams, unlocks unparalleled growth opportunities for our partners and products, and gives us an even stronger platform to scale,” said Nick Kisberg, founder of Legend. “I am immensely proud of what we have built and the decades of hard work that have brought us here today.”
Despite the move, Genius stock Shares plunged 28% to $6.16 midday Thursday.
Featured image: Genius Sports / Legend
