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Affiliate Monitor Change at the top
In the press release accompanying the AskGamblers sale , Catena said the review had “ concluded in a clear focus on the fast-growing , regulated North American markets ”.
It added : “ The group intends to continue streamlining the business in line with this focus . This includes divesting from markets and assets , such as the financial trading brands and the group ’ s remaining European brands , which third parties have shown interest in acquiring . These approaches are currently under evaluation .”
That was followed by a statement in early January that Catena Media had appointed Carnegie Investment Bank , to assess further “ strategic options as part of conversations with third parties that have shown interest in acquiring certain assets , including all the remaining assets of the group ”.
That would appear to suggest that some of the informal approaches received by the company means the whole business is up for sale – or , at the very least , that it has been approached on that basis .
Said the mid-January statement : “ As announced on 15 December 2022 , third parties have shown interest in acquiring other assets as part of this process , and the group continues to evaluate the divestment of such .
“ During these discussions , third parties have also shown interest in acquiring all the remaining assets of the group in a strategic transaction or through a public tender offer for the group .”
GO WEST
This would make sense . The very public strategic review process has been the subject of industry chatter for much of the last nine months or more . Throw a stone within the gaming affiliate sector and it will hit someone gossiping about the future of Catena Media .
Such is the fate of being a market leader and the same could be said about Better Collective .
But with Catena Media , that gossip has always been laced though not with envy . The North American focus makes a lot of sense for the business . In a prerelease of its Q422 numbers , Catena said it expected revenues for the last three months of the year from North America to hit € 21.5m , a 31 % year-on-year increase .
The company noted that the North American market accounted for 78 % of group revenue from continuing operations during the quarter .
CEO Michael Daly said at the time that Catena had “ gained uplift ” from the launch of licensed online sports betting in Maryland in November and had a “ strong runin to the go-live for online sports betting in Ohio on 1 January 2023 , which delivered our strongest ever launch period for a US state sportsbook launch ”.
“ Clearly , then , it would appear that Catena Media is intent on breaking up the European empire that it so assiduously stitched together ” iGB Affiliate Monitor