Canada
Genius Sports Group to go public through combination with NYSE-listed dMY Technology Group II
- Pro forma enterprise value of the merger of approximately $1.5 billion
- Transaction includes a $330 million fully committed private investment (“PIPE”) anchored by institutional and experienced industry investors
- The combined company is expected to have approximately $150 million of growth capital (assuming no redemptions) and a substantially debt-free balance sheet to accelerate its U.S. and international expansion through organic growth and strategic acquisitions
- dMY II shareholders, GSG shareholders and PIPE investors will hold shares in NYSE-listed combined company
- dMY II’s Chairman and dMY II’s CEO will serve on combined company’s Board of Directors
Genius Sports Group Limited (“GSG” or the “Company”), the leading provider of sports data and technology powering the sports, betting and media ecosystem, and dMY Technology Group, Inc. II (NYSE: DMYD) (“dMY II”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, today announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”) pursuant to which GSG and dMY II will combine. As a result of the business combination, GSG and dMY II shareholders will exchange their shares for shares in a new combined company (“NewCo”), which will be publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”). The transaction implies a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion. Upon closing, NewCo expects its ordinary shares and warrants to trade on the NYSE under the symbols “GENI” and “GENI WS”, respectively.
In addition to the approximately $276 million held in dMY II’s trust account (assuming no redemptions by dMY’s public stockholders), a group of institutional and experienced industry investors has committed to participate in the transaction through a common stock PIPE of approximately $330 million at $10.00 per share.
Genius Sports Group Highlights
GSG acquires data from sports events around the world and supplies it to sports betting operators, providing them with secure, high-quality, mission critical data and content that helps them better engage with and protect their customers. The Company has a leading portfolio of rights to official data – the feed of live sports statistics that is sanctioned, and otherwise owned, by the relevant governing league. GSG provides data on over 240,000 events each year – effectively every hour of every day. It is the official provider for over 170,000 of these events.
GSG’s scale, access to official data, and innovative technology platform differentiate it within the industry. The Company maintains long-term partnerships with over 500 sports organizations globally, including the NBA, NCAA, FIBA, FIFA, English Premier League and NASCAR. Its proprietary technology and data feeds are mission critical to the success of its sportsbook partners.
Management & Governance
Following the closing of the proposed business combination, Mark Locke will continue to lead the business as Chief Executive Officer of NewCo. Mr. Locke will be supported by a deep bench of talent with substantial experience across finance, technology and the sports betting industry.
NewCo’s Board of Directors will include dMY II’s Chairman Harry You and dMY II’s CEO Niccolo de Masi. Mr. You is the former EVP of EMC and previously served as the CFO of Accenture and Oracle. Mr. de Masi is the current Chairman and former CEO of Glu Mobile (NASDAQ: GLUU), a leading developer and publisher of mobile games for smartphone and tablet devices.
“Genius Sports Group created the market for official data across all tiers of sports, helping fuel our sportsbook partners’ ever-increasing range of products,” said Mr. Locke. “This transaction will help us continue to expand and strengthen our position as a nexus of the global sports, betting and media ecosystem.”
“Elemental data provider Genius Sports Group benefits from the growth of all participants in the global sports betting market. Mark Locke has pioneered the provision of official rights and live data which have been instrumental in building the modern sports betting market,” said Mr. de Masi. “The company has a strong track record of growth and we are very excited by the opportunities for further expansion in this rapidly growing segment.”
Key Transaction Terms
The transaction values NewCo at an anticipated initial enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion, or 8.0x GSG’s currently projected 2021 revenue of $190 million.
The consideration payable to GSG’s existing shareholders will consist of a combination of cash and rollover equity in NewCo. The proceeds of the $330 million PIPE transaction will be used to repay shareholder loans and to redeem and make certain preference share payments on preferred shares held by corporate shareholders.
Assuming no redemptions by dMY II’s public stockholders, it is anticipated that NewCo will have approximately $150 million of unrestricted cash and a substantially debt-free balance sheet at closing.
The Boards of Directors of both dMY II and GSG have unanimously approved the transaction. The transaction will require the approval of dMY II’s stockholders, and is subject to other customary closing conditions, including a minimum cash condition. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2021.
An investor webcast and presentation detailing the transaction will be available at www.geniussports.com and www.dmytechnology.com. The transcript of the investor webcast and the presentation will be filed by dMY II with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as exhibits to a Current Report on Form 8-K, and available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, NewCo intends to file a registration statement on Form F-4 with the SEC, which will include a proxy statement/prospectus of dMY II, and will file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC.
Advisors
Godman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to dMY II. Oakvale Capital LLP is acting as exclusive financial advisor to GSG. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as lead placement agent for the PIPE transaction. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Oakvale Capital LLP also acted as capital markets advisors and placement agents for the PIPE transaction. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to GSG. White & Case LLP served as legal advisor to dMY II. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as the sole bookrunner of dMY II’s IPO; Needham & Co. also acted as underwriter.
Scientific Games, in partnership with Loto-Québec, Sustana Papers and Recyc-Québec, won the 2024 Gutenberg Award for sustainability at the 42nd Gala Gutenberg. The Gutenberg Awards are the Québec printing industry’s premier event, highlighting the talent, creativity and expertise of printing artisans.
The partnership’s winning entry was the Le Billet Vert (The Green Ticket) lottery instant scratch game launched by Loto-Québec in April 2024. The game was printed on 100% recycled board provided by Sustana Papers, with 100% water-based inks. Scientific Games enhanced the sustainability of the production process by packing completed games in boxes containing 60% recycled fiber and delivering them on reused European Pallet Association pallets.
The game promotes the recycling of lottery tickets, inviting players to download Recyc-Québec’s Ça va où? (Where Does It Go?) mobile app. The app teaches users to correctly sort recyclables and shows them drop-off locations for various types of household waste.
Isabelle Jean, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Lottery Games for Loto-Québec, said, “Since our first scratch game printed on 100% recycled paper stock debuted in 2021, our sustainability efforts have only increased. Congratulations to our team members from Loto-Québec, Scientific Games, Sustana Papers and Recyc-Québec for their vision. Together, we are reducing the environmental footprint of our games.”
The sustainable materials and game production techniques used for Le Billet Vert saved 110 mature trees, the equivalent of 326 10-minute showers, and the electrical power of 882,587 60-watt lightbulbs in one hour (Sustana Solutions eco calculator).
Marc-Andre Doyon, Vice President Canada for Scientific Games, said, “Through this collaboration, Scientific Games and our partners lead the global lottery industry in instant game sustainability. It’s truly an honor to win the Gutenberg Award for our efforts.”
Le Billet Vert is the thirteenth 100% recyclable game created for Loto-Québec since 2021 when Scientific Games and the Lottery began collaborating on a project to bring sustainable instant games to the lottery industry. Another game from this collection, Folie des plantes (Plant Madness), won the Gutenberg Award for sustainability in 2022. Other 100% recyclable Loto-Québec games produced by Scientific Games include Evasion (Escape), Code secret (Secret Code), SLINGO 10X and C’est quoi ton signe? (What’s Your Sign?).
Scientific Games is Loto-Québec’s primary instant game partner, producing the Lottery’s first instant game more than 50 years ago. The company has employed generations of Québécois professionals from their Montréal production facility, which produces instant games for Canadian and European lotteries.
With products that generate more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest instant games creator, producer and services provider, and the primary provider to nine of the Top 10 performing instant game lotteries in the world (La Fleur’s 2024 World Lottery Almanac).
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)
Soft2Bet strengthens integrity monitoring with IBIA membership in Ontario
Soft2Bet, a leading casino and sportsbook platform provider, has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and activated its membership in Ontario, Canada, following its licensing in the Canadian province.
Soft2bet obtained its Certificate of Registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at the end of March, where the company’s Ontario-focused brand Tooniebet.com will now feed into IBIA’s world-leading sports betting integrity monitoring platform before worldwide implementation in the coming months.
IBIA includes over 50 of the world’s leading sports betting and gaming companies, who operate over 125 sports betting brands. Soft2Bet’s decision to join the association further strengthens its own internal betting integrity protocols and IBIA’s position as the world’s leading sports betting integrity monitoring body.
David Yatom Hay, General Counsel at Soft2Bet, commented: “Soft2Bet is delighted to be joining the IBIA as we strengthen our own betting integrity monitoring processes and play our part in furthering the IBIA’s long-standing work on this key issue. Ontario is a world class iGaming jurisdiction; it will be the first market where we will implement our IBIA membership and we look forward to deploying the monitoring infrastructure worldwide in all the other markets in which we operate.”
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Soft2Bet is a very welcome addition to IBIA, further strengthening our position in the Ontario market. The operator’s decision to join IBIA demonstrates its desire to utilise the best integrity protection available for its sportsbook product. The association is delighted to be able to integrate Tooniebet within our integrity monitoring system and looks forward to working closely with Soft2Bet to maintain the high integrity of its sportsbook.”
IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and is run by operators and for operators to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets.
Through the IBIA monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts. IBIA members generate more than $300bn in annual betting turnover (handle), accounting for approximately 50% of the global commercial regulated land-based and online sports betting sector, and in excess of 50% for online alone.
IBIA recently released a report on the Availability of Sports Betting Products which highlighted Ontario as a leading regulated gambling jurisdiction, with an expected onshore channelisation for sports betting of 92% in 2024 forecast to rise to 97% in2028. IBIA currently represents over 60% of the private sports betting operators licensed in the province. All online sportsbetting operators licensed in Ontario are required to be part of a betting integrity monitoring body.
IBIA’s Q1 2024 report detailed 56 alerts during the quarter. IBIA alerts contributed to the investigations and subsequent successful sanctioning of 21 clubs, players and officials in 2023, an increase on the 15 sanctioned in 2022.
British Columbia Lottery Corporation
SCCG Management Signs Contract with British Columbia Lottery Corporation
SCCG Management has signed a contract with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the B.C. Crown corporation which conducts and manages commercial gambling in the province, including lotteries, casinos, and online gaming. This partnership aims to undertake a comprehensive assessment and strategic enhancement of BCLC’s diverse operations.
The work between SCCG and BCLC will involve a thorough review of technological infrastructures, strategic market positioning, and the integration of various gaming modalities. SCCG’s extensive expertise will be pivotal in harmonizing BCLC’s online and physical gaming experiences.
Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO of SCCG Management, said: “Our collaboration with BCLC represents a remarkable opportunity to push the boundaries of innovation within the gaming industry. We are committed to deploying our resources and expertise to enhance BCLC’s operational efficiencies and customer engagement strategies. It’s an honor to partner with an organization that has a robust impact on the community through its support of public initiatives.”
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