XLMedia offers £11m tender for shareholders to close business

XLMedia Plc will propose a new tender to return £11 million of corporate capital to existing shareholders, as the company moves to terminate its business entirely.

The tender follows XLMedia’s announcement on 3 April that it had begun work on fulfilling final obligations and settling outstanding liabilities with investors.

At present, XLMedia exists as a “cash-shell business”, having informed the London AIM that it will delist and close its operations on 12 May 2025.

The board of XLMedia has confirmed it will offer a tender of £11 million ($14 million) as a proposed return to investors, while settling the firm’s remaining closure liabilities.

The tender is viewed as offering a premium of 11 pence (+16%) on XLMedia’s common pricing of ordinary shares, with shareholders able to reclaim approximately 71% of XLMedia’s outstanding shareholding.

The Tender Offer is subject to shareholder approval at a General Meeting scheduled for Monday 28 April. XLMedia has made its offer as the board “does not expect to make any further distributions of capital to Shareholders prior to the planned suspension of the Company’s Ordinary Shares on AIM.”

In February, shareholders accepted XLMedia’s first return of capital of £14 million ($17 million), a transaction generated from the sale of media assets to Gambling.com Group and Sportradar AG for respective cash proceeds of $30 million and $20 million.

In its previous update, XLMedia published its final accounts, showing a cash balance of $35 million, but had incurred an operating loss (before impairment charges) of $15 million.

As such, XLMedia will return $25 million to shareholders from existing cash, with remaining capital allocated to settle contracts, tax liabilities, deferred payments, and terminated media partnerships.

XLMedia is closing its business following a strategic review prompted by ongoing operational challenges and a changing digital media landscape. Over the past few years, the company experienced declining profitability and increasing competition in its core sectors of sports and gaming affiliate marketing.

Despite attempts to restructure and refocus on high-performing assets, XLMedia was unable to sustain long-term growth or profitability. The sale of its North American and European assets marked a turning point, as the company opted to realise value for shareholders through divestment, rather than continuing to operate at limited scale with uncertain prospects.