Catena Media Acquires Lineups.com for nearly $40 Million
Danish company Better Collective has purchased the Action Network for $240 Million dollars earlier this week; not to be outdone, Catena Media purchases Lineups.com.
As the sports betting industry continues to open up across the US and revenue in the gambling space is projected to top $4 Billion in 2021 alone, the race to capture market share amongst the sportsbooks and the affiliate sites is really heating up.
Already this week, it was announced that the Danish company Better Collective has purchased the very popular Action Network platform for $240 Million dollars. Not even 24 hours later comes the announcement that Catena Media, a competitor to Better Collective, has made a significant purchase of their own.
Catena Media Acquires Lineups.com Details
Catena Media has agreed to purchase 100% of the shares in Lineups.com for $39.6M. The agreement includes three payments over two years, starting with an upfront payment of $25m by Catena Media.
There is an additional $500,000 contingent payment in the deal if certain thresholds and metrics are met, one of which includes New York state legalizing sports gambling within the next three years. If the contingency payment requirements are met, this deal will be worth more than $40m USD.
Lineups.com founder Sam Shefrin is expected to remain with the company as an exclusive consultant to the business.
Why Now?
Catena Media already has a US presence from their existing website thelines.com. Thelines.com is a sports betting analysis and information site mainly popular within the US sports gambling community. The purchase of Lineups.com will strengthen their US footprint, add another complimentary product that fits nicely within their sports gambling portfolio and increase their ability to gain valuable US market share.
With the announcement of Collective Better purchasing the Action Network platform already this week and last weeks announcement that DraftKings spent $50m to purchase the licensing and distribution rights to the Dan Le Batard and friends podcast, sportsbooks and affiliate sports gambling sites are being ultra-aggressive trying to capture market share right now.
Who is Lineups.com
Lineups.com provides expected or confirmed starting lineups for all major North American sports teams and events with a focus on daily fantasy sports. On top of providing daily lineup information, the website uses advanced analytics, tools, and up-to-date information that will help sports bettors make more informed decisions on games and events they wish to wager on.
Lineups.com reported over $7.5m in sales over the last 12 months, ending April 30th, 2021. The $7.5m in revenue represents approximately 10% of Catena Media’s revenue during the same time period.
What’s next?
In less than a week, the US sports gambling industry has seen over $300m spent by only three companies trying to gain traction, acquire customers and increase their market share in a very competitive and lucrative space.
Better Collective spent $240m this week. Their competitor Catena Media spent $40m this week. DraftKings spent $50m last week acquiring the rights to Dan Le Batard’s podcast for three years. With so much potential revenue at stake, the expectation within the industry is that the spending spree is far from over.
With the recent acquisitions, it’s a safe bet there will be more deals made and more money spent as the race to capture sports betting market share continues. It could be a case of ‘who blinks, loses’ for the existing companies.
In the near future, we might see numerous acquisitions from the giants in the sports betting industry really soon. If that is the case, the corporate entities are already playing their own gambling game against each other. However, the stakes are more than just chunks of cash; the existence of the company is now in their hands on every possible deal each day.
