XLMedia gets out of the affiliate game, sells to Sportradar

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After selling off its European assets earlier this year, XLMedia is fully getting out of the affiliate business, selling its remaining North American domains to Sportradar in a deal that could be worth up to $30 million.

The sites include Crossing Broad, SportsBettingDime, EliteSportsNY and SaturdayDownSouth.

In a notice of the proposed divestment of the North American assets, the board conceded that the “value of its individual businesses was not being fully reflected in its share price.” Accordingly, the group concluded the right path forward was to sell.

 “While it was confident that the US market would provide long-term success for a larger organization, the Board believes XLMedia’s current scale on a standalone basis could impact its ability to compete in the evolving US market. In addition, the Board is also mindful that following the Europe disposal, the continuing business of the North America business may be considered too small to remain listed,” the notice read.

“In an ongoing commitment to maximize shareholder value, following the Europe Disposal, the Board is pleased to have reached an agreement to sell the North America Business to Sportradar pending shareholder approval. We anticipate an initial distribution from the net proceeds to shareholders before year end,” Chairman Marcus Rich said in a statement.

Sportradar declined to comment on the acquisition.

The board plans to approve the transaction at its upcoming meeting on Nov. 7, with plans to finalize the deal soon after.

Last year, XLMedia generated $27.5 million in revenue and $5.5 million in adjusted EBITDA. The company sold the European and Canadian assets to Gambling.com Group in March of this year to focus on the North American side of the business.

XLMedia and Sportradar first synced up in 2022 when the companies inked a deal for Sportradar to provide data to the sites in the XLMedia portfolio to help enhance its sports coverage with widgets and match trackers.

The deal is the second in recent months where a supplier has acquired an affiliate business. After taking a minority stake in the business in June, GeoComply helped Betting Hero Co-Founders Jai Maw and Jeremy Jakary buy back the business from FansUnite in August for $37.5 million.

The sale of Betting Hero wrapped up the demise of American Affiliate, a group FansUnite acquired in 2021 for $13.5 million.