Endeavor completes acquisition of sports betting company openbet

Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR), a global sports and entertainment company (“Endeavor”), today closed its previously announced acquisition of OpenBet, a leading content, platform and service provider to the sports betting industry, from Light & Wonder, Inc. (Nasdaq: LNW) for approximately $800 million paid through a combination of cash ($750 million, subject to certain customary adjustments) and shares of Endeavor’s Class A common stock (valued at $50 million based on the volume-weighted average trading price of the Class A common stock for the twenty trading days ended on June 29, 2022).

“The addition of OpenBet to our sports betting portfolio will enable us to further capitalize on the massive tailwinds in the fast-evolving sports betting ecosystem and lead the way in defining the future of sports betting entertainment,” said Ariel Emanuel, CEO, Endeavor. “In combination with our IMG ARENA sports data and content business, we’ll look to create and unlock meaningful value for our rights holder and sportsbook customers, helping deliver the most compelling offerings for sports fans globally.”
“We’ve been awaiting this day when we can bring together everything OpenBet has to offer with the depth of expertise and relationships that Endeavor and IMG bring to the table,” said Jordan Levin, CEO, OpenBet. “Our focus remains on providing our customers with the most innovative solutions to give their fans the ultimate sports betting complement to live sports. We couldn’t be more excited to lean into the Endeavor network to accelerate and amplify that mission.”

OpenBet and IMG ARENA will form a fourth operating segment for Endeavor, Sports Data & Technology, beginning January 2023.

OpenBet, with more than 1000 team members situated across the globe, focuses exclusively on licensed customers and regulated global gaming markets serving a customer base that includes many top-tier sportsbooks such as DraftKings, FanDuel, SkyBet, Ladbrokes and William Hill. OpenBet specializes in betting engine technology, processing billions of bets annually, as well as trading, pricing and risk management tools; player account and wallet solutions; innovative front-end UX and UI; and content offerings such as BetBuilder, DonBest pricing feeds and an industry-first sports content aggregation platform.

IMG ARENA works with more than 470 leading sportsbook brands, leagues and federations worldwide to deliver official FastPath live streaming video and data feeds for more than 45,000 sports events annually. Additional expertise includes the creation and delivery of some of the world’s best, second-screen sports content, as well as virtual and mobile sports-specific betting products for fans.

The Raine Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to Endeavor on the transaction. Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to Endeavor.

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