XLMedia Expands Presence in US Sports Betting Market with CBWG Acquisition

XLMedia, a leading global digital performance publisher, has announced that it has made a significant step in its expansion into the US sports market with the acquisition of sports gaming and betting business CBWG Sports (CBWG).

Under the terms of the definitive documents for the acquisition, XLMedia will pay upfront consideration of $12 million in cash and issue 7,954,546 new XLMedia plc shares (representing an aggregate value of $3.5 million), as well as potential future contingent consideration of up to an additional $9.5 million, based on net revenue performance of the acquired business, payable over three years to the end of 2023.

Application will be made to London Stock Exchange for the newly issued shares to be admitted to trading on AIM, and such admission is expected to become effective on 15 December 2020. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the sellers and founders have agreed not to sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of the newly acquired shares for a period of two years after the closing of the acquisition.

“It is great to have acquired such an attractive set of assets during an inflection point for the US Sports betting market. On some estimates, almost 60% of the US population is set to have legal access to Sports betting by the end of 2022 – this could include New York, where one of the key assets, EliteSportsNY.com, is focused,” Stuart Simms, CEO of XLMedia, said.

“In order to build upon the positive momentum of CBWG, it is important to retain the team, especially the founders, Kyle Scott and Jason Ziernicki; it is great to be able to depend upon their sports expertise and knowledge. They are also exceptionally keen to play a central role in the next exciting stage of the journey, both for this business and for our broader US operations,” Stuart Simms added.