Betway On Track To Combine With SPAC Vehicle For NYSE Entry

Betway is on track to become the industry’s next publicly traded US company, with its owner Super Group announcing plans to combine with a SPAC vehicle in order to gain access to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Super Group, headquartered in Guernsey, announced on Sunday that it had ‘entered a definitive agreement’ to merge its operations with blank-check SPAC – Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp. (SEAC).

SEAC, which was founded by former NFL VP Eric Grubman and partner John P Collins, a former NHL operations lead, completed its NYSE IPO offering last October, raising $450 million in capital to pursue new US wagering projects.

Majority ownership

SEAC intends to lead Super Group’s NYSE listing, with the new company being majority-owned by Super Group’s current shareholders and seeking a valuation of $4.2 billion, excluding existing transaction funding (88 percent ).

Super Group’s demonstrated growth credentials as a global wagering company were highlighted in the SPAC, which “delivered $1.1 billion in net gaming revenue (NGR) and $259 million in EBITDA in 2020 on a pro-forma basis and forecasts.”

A statement from Eric Grubman read: “Super Group is an online gaming and betting powerhouse with a track record of global growth and a strong balance sheet. Super Group’s core DNA is rooted in digital technology, which drives its unparalleled expertise in data and analytics.”

Super Group also announced that it had decided on definitive terms to acquire Digital Gaming Corporation (DGC), Betway’s US licencing partner, bolstering its US growth ambitions.

US footprint

Betway revealed in March it was looking to grow its US footprint with NBA and NHL deals through DGC, eventually signing franchise agreements with with six NBA teams and two NHL.

Betway and Spin, a multi-brand casino operator, are listed as Super Group’s online gaming properties. Betway and Spin operate in “23 jurisdictions throughout Europe, the Americas, and Africa, taking in more than $42 billion in wagers in the 12 months to March 2021, maintaining 2.5 million monthly unique active customers,” according to the company.

The Betway brand was launched in 2006 as the flagship sportsbook of Win Technologies, an igaming company that would develop Betway’s proprietary sportsbook systems. Betway’s expansion will result in it employing over 3,000 people and becoming Win Technologies’ lead business agency in 2018.

Profitable online gaming business

Super Group CEO Neal Menashe backed the company’s NYSE aspirations, saying it had met its founding goals of establishing Betway as a profitable online gaming business capable of meeting global growth scale demands trading across all continents.

Menashe said: “Becoming a public company will give us the tools to continue to grow our leading product and technology offering and deliver a strengthened brand-driven marketing strategy,” Menashe commented.

“This listing will position us strongly to capitalize on the significant global growth opportunities ahead ‒ including in the U.S. market ‒ enabling us to further expand our robust, loyal and engaged customer base. In Eric and John, we have found the perfect partners with expertise across sports, entertainment and public markets to help us navigate our next phase of growth.”

On the New York Stock Exchange, the firm’s new name will be listed as “SGHC.” On Monday, April 26th at 8.30 a.m. EST, Super Group will be hosting a conference call to update investors and stakeholders on the deal’s goals and progress.