Catena Strengthens North American Exposure with i15 Media Acquisition

Catena Media plc has reached another land-mark deal in North America by purchasing i15 Media, a company with over 100 sites dedicated to sports betting, casino gaming and affiliates. The deal amounts to $45 million, of which $12.5 million will be paid in the form of Catena shares. 

Catena Continues to Notch up North American Assets 

The assets, including American football-oriented news and affiliate sites such as Michigansharp.com and NYSportsDay.com, focus on states where gambling is getting started and will contribute to Catena’s growing footprint in the quickly-developing iGaming market. 

Apart from targeting freshly-regulated markets, i15 Media already has websites that operate in regulated markets and offer national coverage of the iGaming and sports betting industry. Bonus.com and Gamblingonline.com are both valuable parts of the portfolio that will now be under Catena’s control.

Previously, Catena acquired Lineups.com in another ground-breaking deal for $39.6 million, and the company revealed strong H1 results in 2021. 

Catena Media CEO Michael Daly commented on the deal, “The addition of i15 Media’s online sports betting and casino assets to our North American portfolio will accelerate our already rapidly expanding business there. In addition to i15’s strong national and state brands generating revenues in current markets, the additional coverage for upcoming states will further cement Catena Media’s leadership position in the United States.”

I15’s Set to Boost Catena’s Results 

Daly confirmed that i15 Media’s founder and owner, Kendall Saville, would be joining Catena’s team as a consultant for the next few years. The combined i15 Media assets generated $8 million in the 12-month period ending July 31, 2021. An estimated 67% of this amount came in during Q1 2021, when North American sports enjoy the most attention from bettors.

Catena expects an average EBITDA margin of at least 70% as a result of the acquisition. The company has been able to expand its business in North America by 121% in the first half of 2021, bringing in 49% of the total group revenue, an official press release explained.  

XLMedia, another well-established company in the affiliate gambling sector, has made two purchases this year, one targeting Saturday Football Inc for $23 million and another for offshore sports digital media Sports Betting Dime for the sum total of $26 million.