The Fanatics logo is seen on the dugout wall before the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on July 3, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Justin Berl/Getty Images)
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Fanatics has agreed to acquire PointsBet’s US operations, marking the sports giant’s first major leap into US sports betting.
The transaction is valued at about $150 million in cash. The companies announced the deal Sunday night, shortly after CNBC reported that an agreement had been reached.
“Fanatics and PointsBet are excited to close an agreement for Fanatics Betting and Gaming to acquire PointsBet’s US business,” the companies said in a joint statement. “While there are still several steps in the process of completing the acquisition, both parties are confident of the outcome. Fanatics Betting and Gaming and PointsBet will provide further details on the proposed deal and timely updates in the coming weeks.”
The deal will give Zealots access to at least 15 states, according to people familiar with the deal, who declined to be named because the discussions were private. Fanatics expects to have access to most states where PointsBet operates by the start of the NFL season, according to one of the people.
Australian-listed PointsBet is expected to vote on the deal at the end of June. Only American PointsBet assets are part of the deal. Fanatics plans to fund some of the remaining cash flow from PointsBet, which has had to spend heavily on marketing to compete with larger rivals. DraftKings and FanDuel.
PointsBet predicts a loss of between $77 million and $82 million for the second half of the year. Citing “very challenging” market conditions, the company said on Sunday that it would need to raise additional capital in the near future at a “significant discount to recent market prices” if the Fanatics deal were to fall apart.
NBCUniversal will receive proceeds from its previous transaction with PointsBet and will no longer have an ownership interest, according to PointsBet. NBC acquired a 4.9% stake in PointsBet in 2020. It will continue to hold a stake in PointsBet’s Australian parent company.
Fanatics has dealt with a number of different sports betting companies for the last year how she charted her way forward in mobile gambling.
“It’s a 10-year journey,” Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting, said at the SBC conference earlier this month. “We’re going to move very methodically through this 10-year journey. And when we do that and take that approach, it allows you to be a little more deliberate in your decisions. You can move slower today, a little slower, in order to move quickly later.”
Fanatics is a sports platform with a private valuation of $31 billion. The company forecasts 2023 revenue of $8 billion.
Fanatics owns business assets, a sports card business and is building a sports betting division. The company acquired the legendary Topps trading card for the company 500 million dollars last year.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of NBC Sports and CNBC.