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“ Back in May , Catena announced it was looking at its AskGamblers business after ‘ noticing ’ interest in the business from third parties ”
promotional activity , but Søgaard repeated the message that affiliates should benefit from any move to reallocate spending . “ The change in marketing focus is potentially favouring us because our business is performancebased ,” he added .
CATENA MEDIA Q2 REVIEW
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW ? Back in May , Catena announced it was looking at its AskGamblers business after “ noticing ” interest in the business from third parties . The company said it was therefore undertaking a strategic review “ which will be broad [ and ] consider all feasible alternatives and assets of the group to ensure an optimal outcome ”.
By August , the review had expanded to include a look at the future of the entire European business . The company said the regulatory developments in the UK , Germany , Sweden and now the Netherlands , as well as “ general market developments ”, prompted this widening of scope . Such a move would leave the rest of the business to concentrate on higher growth opportunities in the US and further afield . In the second quarter call , CEO Michael Daly said the prospects for European business had worsened in line with the wider macroeconomic backdrop . As Daly said , European consumers are “ feeling the macro impact more ” than those in the US and “ because we operate mainly on revenue share that will impact us ... it might open up M & A opportunities but that ’ s where we are ”.
It remains the subject of industry rumour as to who might end up bidding for the parts of the Catena Media business that the company no longer wants . But whoever ends up buying those , it is certainly clear that a stage in the evolution of the gaming affiliate sector will have come to a definitive close with the deal . The question then remains what position Catena will occupy in the new landscape .
With the latest news from Catena in early October that discussions are still ongoing , it seems we will have to wait to find out some of the answers . But it is fair to say that significant change is on the way .
iGB Affiliate Monitor November 2022