SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Gambling.com Group continues to expand its North American media portfolio, announcing that it has reached a binding agreement to acquire NDC Media, the publisher of BonusFinder.com.
Terms of the transaction will see Gambling.com pay an initial purchase price of €12.5 million ($14m) of which €10 million will be paid as a cash reward. The remaining €2.5 million will be paid to NDC in new newly issued Gambling.com ordinary shares.
NDC’s buyout offer has been further sweetened by Gambling.com applying earnout incentives based on financial performance for 2022 and 2023.
According to the Group’s forecast, the total consideration, including purchase price paid at close and both earnout payments, is expected to be approximately € 41 million ($47 million) – a figure that implies a multiple of under 3.5 times expected 2023 revenue.
Gambling.com has capped its acquisition offer at €60 million, dependent on the outcome of earnout incentives, in which the buyer holds the option to “pay up to 50% of each of the earnout payments in unregistered ordinary shares at its sole discretion”.
The acquisition was formally closed on 31 January and will be consolidated on Gambling.com accounts from 1 February 2022.
“We believe that the combination of these two complementary businesses is immediately accretive to our fiscal 2022 earnings and establishes a foundation for a leadership position in North America which will drive value creation for our shareholders,” read Gambling.com CEO Charles Gillespie‘s statement.
“The acquisition of BonusFinder gives Gambling.com additional scale in the North American online gambling market. BonusFinder’s strong presence in Canada is expected to drive increased market share for the Group ahead of the anticipated Ontario online sports betting and iGaming market launch in April.
Amsterdam-based NDC launched its flagship portal BonusFinder.com in 2019, providing a bonus and sportsbook comparison service for customers within newly liberalised US states.
NDC is founded by long-term industry affiliate and former Google igaming industry lead Fintan Costello, who commented on the deal – “These organizations complement each other well as partners within the North American market.”
“Gambling.com has demonstrated its leadership position within the online sports betting and iGaming industry, and its proprietary technologies and experience will provide BonusFinder with the tools to maximize growth in this exciting new era of North American regulation.”
