Less than two weeks following the agreement to buy Freebets.com, Gambling.com Group completed its purchase of Freebets.com.
Gambling.com Group negotiated a deal last month to purchase Freebets.com between $37.5m and $42.5m. The purchase price is determined by future revenues.
After six months, the affiliate group must pay $20.0m and an additional $10m. One year after completion of the project, between $7.5m to $12.5m will be due. This is subjected to 2024 revenue.
Gambling.com Group anticipates that Freebets.com will generate $10.0m more in revenue and $5.0m additional adjusted EBITDA in the current fiscal year.
The deal is funded by existing cash, new borrowings from its credit facility and future cash flows.
The acquisition will fundamentally change the power balance of Europe’s affiliate markets
Charles Gillespie is the CEO of Gambling.com Group and co-founder. He said that this deal shows Gambling.com Group’s commitment to Europe alongside their US expansion. The deal will also have a significant impact on the European affiliate marketing market.
Gillespie stated that while the expansion of gambling is a hot topic in America, some of the most lucrative markets for the industry are still in Europe. This region has been the home to the industry historically.
I expect that this purchase will fundamentally alter the power balance in the European affiliate online gambling market. The acquisition will give Gambling.com Group a path for growth, both in our current European markets and new ones.
As part of this transaction, we gain a number new colleagues in that region. “I look forward to sharing with them our high-performance culture and our technology leadership platform.”
Gambling.com Group celebrates 2023 growth
Gambling.com Group published its full-year 2023 results at the same time as this acquisition. Revenues rose 42.1%, to $108,7m.
In 2023, the Group’s highlights included the launch and expansion of Casinos.com. The group also formed a partnership with UK-based media publisher The Independent. The group claimed that all of these factors contributed to the growth in revenue.
A rise in revenues was accompanied by a net profit of 21.1m dollars, compared to a loss of $2.4m in 2022. The adjusted EBITDA was also 52.3% more at $36.7m.
Hopes high for 2024
Gambling.com Group, a company that has seen its performance improve in 2023 as a result of the acquisition and its success in 2024, is confident about their prospects.
The midpoint would represent a 20.5% increase over 2023. The forecast for EBITDA is between $44.0m and $48.0m with a midpoint of 25.3% more than last year.
The group stated that this guidance assumes there will be no new US markets in 2024. The group also stated that it assumes it won’t benefit from any new acquisitions other than Freebets.com. Gambling.com Group is likely to be quite quiet in the M&A arena for the remainder of this year.
