BlueBet is anticipating “significantly enhanced scale and increased market share” after announcing the acquisition of operator betr’s wagering business.
Australia-listed company BlueBet added the subsequently combined business, which is due to merge on July 1, is forecast to reach monthly EBITDA profitability and be EBITDA profitable in the 2025 financial year.
BlueBet is also undertaking a two-tranche conditional placement to raise around AU$20m to fund “operational and strategic growth initiatives of the combined business and one-off synergy realisation and transaction costs.”
BlueBet will have the ability to migrate betr’s customers to its proprietary platform technology. The company said betr’s customer database of around 341,000 open accounts and 112,000 active customers, combined with BlueBet’s over 67,000 active customers, “increases the company’s sustainable base of recreational customers with low customer crossover.”
BlueBet said the combined business expects to transition to one single brand following a brand review, with advertising and marketing savings “to be reinvested.”
The company will be headed up by Andrew Menz and Bill Richmond, with BlueBet’s executive chairman Michael Sullivan to become a board member.
Sullivan said the deal will create a “national challenger in the online wagering market.”
He added: “The betr team is fully aligned with this vision and we are excited by the growth opportunities and synergies that will be unlocked through the proposed merger of our two businesses.”
betr’s Founder Matthew Tripp said: “Today is a significant day for betr and a major step towards achieving our ambition to be a tier one wagering operator.
“The combination of our joint scale and the BlueBet technology platform is extremely powerful. What excites me most is the deep experience and highly complementary skillsets of the combined team which sets us up well for the next phase of growth.”
The deal is subject to approval from the Northern Territory Racing Commission.
Speculation about the move arose on Wednesday when BlueBet halted trading on the Australian Stock Exchange.
"BlueBet’s board of directors believe the proposed merger represents a significant and compelling opportunity which is expected to create material value for BlueBet shareholders," it said.
"The BlueBet board unanimously recommends that BlueBet shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions that require the approval of BlueBet’s shareholders with respect to the proposed merger in the absence of receipt of a superior proposal."
