Affiliate Monitor
5
A dead parrot
A dead parrot
● Same , same but different ● A significant other
PART ONE
There are resonances and resemblances about the M & A activity occurring right now within the betting and gaming affiliate sector that speak to something of a reorganisation or rearrangement of the pieces . Specifically , they appear to suggest the collapse of fading stars and the emergence of a new landscape .
The news from XLMedia and Gambling . com Group in late March wasn ’ t just another significant slice of M & A within the space – or at least wasn ’ t just another example of deal making .
Much as with the completion of Catena Media ’ s transformation into a largely North American-facing affiliate , the divestment on the part of XLMedia says a lot about its own , much reduced , ambitions .
The press release announcing the news made similar noises about the deal leaving XLMedia to concentrate on its owned and operated sites and its media partnerships in the US which , it pointed out , represent 55 % of expected group revenues in 2023 .
As is noted later in this report , the company is yet to publish its full-year results for last year .
In return for offloading Freebets . com , WhichBingo . co . uk , Nettikasinot . com and Vedonlyonti . com , plus a bunch of smaller European and Canadian-facing sites , XLMedia will receive up to $ 42.5m , of which $ 37.5m will be paid upfront with a further $ 5m to follow depending on the postacquisition performance .
XL said the total price represented a 3.5x multiple of the Group ’ s expected $ 12m fullyear adjusted EBITDA and a 6.4x multiple of the assets ’ expected EBITDA of $ 6.6m in the year to 31 December 2023 .
April 2024