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potlight Sports Group announced on September 1 an all-cash acquisition of fantasy sports media platform Alarm Sports Network, a company dedicated to white-label fantasy and free-to-play contests for media companies like Bally’s and the Action Network, among others.
Backed by Exponent Private Equity, Spotlight Sports intends to build a global betting and fantasy content platform. Under the terms of the deal, the company will expand its business of games that partners can brand as their own, as well as consumer-facing subscription services.
According to an official press release, the key highlights from the deal include:
- Spotlight Sports Group will retain the expertise of the Alarm Sports Network team: co-founders Dan and Al Williams, former NBC executive and Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association Hall-Of-Famer Rick Wolf and former FOX Sports & EA Sports executive Ed Bunnell.
- ASN brands Fantasy Alarm, Wager Alarm, DFS Alarm and Fantasy Rundown join Pickwise in a new look direct-to-consumer brand roster for sports bettors and fantasy players across North America.
- Spotlight Sports Group will integrate the ASN team, growing the Group’s staff to more than 500 people.
The agreement is also intended to help the group grow its presence in North America, “where fantasy sports have deep roots and sports betting is starting to take off”.
As reported by Yahoo Sports, Spotlight Sports CEO Alan Byrne spoke about this acquisition in an interview and said: “Because of what’s happening in America, that’s our No. 1 priority. We think that rich content will have an important part to play in the market. We appreciate that for now operators are scrambling to get their licenses and their platforms live. But, in time, people are going to want to provide content to support their offerings”.
“This acquisition covers the fantasy gap in our portfolio”, he added. “It also puts us in a position to provide content that is of interest in states that are not yet legal from a betting perspective”.
Byrne also explained that “rather than hiring individuals step-by-step from various companies, we’re acquiring a team of talent immediately. It would take us a long time, in quite a hot market, to hire the range of talent on the editorial side and the product and tech side that Alarm has to offer”.
Rick Wolf, President of Alarm Sports Network, spoke in a press release about this merger and said: “This deal creates a powerhouse sports betting and fantasy sports business, proven to drive revenue with engagement-led solutions. Using our unique mix of product technology, expert content and authoritative brands, we will continue to deepen our relationships with our partners to help them grow and monetize their audiences”.
Dan Williams, Alarm’s Co-Founder, added: “We are tremendously excited to become part of Spotlight Sports Group, working together to help solve challenges and drive innovation for our partners in the fast-evolving sports media and affiliate landscape”.
