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“ We aren ’ t trying to do as many deals as some of our peers . We will do fewer . But our outlook on M & A is positive . That was one of the purposes of the IPO ”
CHARLES GILLESPIE , GAMBLING . COM GROUP
EmpireStakes com , BetArizona . com and IllinoisBet . com .
Still , an immediate issue raised on the debut earnings call was whether the company would be involved in any prospective M & A .
“ As we were coming into the close of the IPO we focused on that and put the M & A conversations on ice ,” Gillespie said . “ Then once that was done it was time to dust off the contact list .
“ We have a variety of conversations in progress and we have many options in the pipeline at different stages ,” he added . “ We aren ’ t trying to do as many deals as some of our peers . We will do fewer . But our outlook on
M & A is positive . That was one of the purposes of the transaction and it has been great to have come back to some in-depth conversations now that the IPO has been completed .”
Looking at the corporate activity in the wider betting and gaming space in the US , Gillespie suggested the price agreed for some of the deals – notably DraftKings ’ buyout of Golden Nugget and the $ 2bn laid out by Penn National for Score Media and Gaming – “ turned a few heads ”.
“ We ’ re not looking at anything of that size ,” he said . “ But there hasn ’ t been any meaningful change in price in the last three weeks .”
Taking the other tack and looking at what further operator consolidation might mean for suppliers such as the affiliate sector , Gillespie pointed out that M & A had been a constant factor in the gaming sector .
“ It is hardly a new phenomenon ,” he added . “ We have worked with many of the brands that were added to the bigger companies and we continue to work with them now . But even as these big consumer brands get aggregated , it doesn ’ t really change a whole lot for us . In many cases we will be talking to different teams who frankly are competing to put up the best figures .”
October 2021