Better Collective upgrades full year guidance after acquiring AceOdds
Affiliate group Better Collective has increased its guidance for the 2024 financial year after completing the acquisition of sports betting media company AceOdds.
Better Collective purchased AceOdds, a multi-language sports betting company, for âŹ42m (ÂŁ35.9m/$45.5m). The transaction took place on a net cash/debt free basis and implies a 12-month EBITD multiple of 4x.
Ben Robinson, founder of Corfai Capital, acted as sell-side advisor on the transaction.
It will be financed by âŹ40m in cash, with the remainder made up by an undisclosed total of Better Collective shares. The shares will be based on the volume weighted average share price on the Nasdaq Copenhagen five days before and ending five days after its closing. Better Collective plans to set up a share buyback scheme for this, which will be settled in shares.
AceOdds was founded in 2008 and is based in the UK. It offers betting tools, reviews, odds and streaming programmes. Ian Bowden, senior director, UK and Ireland at Better Collective, said AceOddâs offerings and trajectory aligns âperfectlyâ with Better Collectiveâs vision for the future.
âThis strategic acquisition brings us a robust owned and operated sports betting media brand in the UK market, poised for global scalability,â said Bowden.
âAligned perfectly with Better Collectiveâs overarching strategy of acquiring leading sports media brands across various niches, the AceOdds brand fills a crucial gap by offering a vital sports betting affiliation brand in a pivotal growth market for the Better Collective group, along with an app benefiting from hundreds of thousands of installs to further increase the reach we can provide our partners.â
Upgraded financial targets
Following the deal, Better Collective has heightened its full-year 2024 financial targets. Revenue is now expected to fall between âŹ395m and âŹ425m, up from previous targets of âŹ390m and âŹ420m. EBITDA before special items is now projected between âŹ130m and âŹ140m. Previously, this was âŹ125m to âŹ135m.
In February, Better Collective revealed that it had surpassed its FY23 revenue targets. Revenue came to âŹ327m for the twelve months. In the same month it completed its acquisition of Playmaker Capital, which was valued at âŹ176m. The deal â which was announced in November â was agreed by 99.999% of Playmaker shareholders.
Better Collective noted that AceOdds had achieved operational earnings of approximately âŹ10m in the last twelve months. Better Collective said that it wishes to reinvest part of this profitability into its product and user experience.
AceOdds has also consistently achieved recurring revenue. Better Collective will utilise zero and first party data from AceOddsâ app to improve targeting on AdVantage, Better Collectiveâs internal adtech platform.
