Apollo Global Management considers Yahoo Sports and sports betting merger
Apollo Global Management is having preliminary discussions with sports betting companies to merge their assets with Yahoo Sports, as reported by CNBC.
The private equity firm acquired Yahoo from Verizon for $5bn last year. According to people familiar with the matter, one of the companies Yahoo has met with is PointsBet Holdings. The Australian group has a market valuation of around $760m.
Importantly, talks remain early at this stage, and no deal is imminent, with spokespeople for Yahoo, Apollo and PointsBet all declining to comment.
But the move could reportedly form an eventual spinoff of Yahoo Sports, with any new company likely to keep the Yahoo branding.
“Yahoo was an early provider of fantasy sports tools and has millions of players who would likely be crossover candidates for legalised sports betting,” CNBC reported.
Legalised mobile sports betting is currently operational in 19 US states, but CNBC claims that the sports betting industry has “slumped in recent months as a swath of companies have made customer acquisition increasingly expensive through significant marketing costs and promotional offers.”
According to CNBC, smaller publicly traded sports betting groups like Rush Street Interactive and PointsBet have slumped in the past year amid a battle with market leaders DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM. Caesars’ William Hill, Rush Street’s BetRivers, and Fox Bet are also competing.
One executive, who asked not to be named, commented: “Everyone is talking to everyone right now. There needs to be consolidation.”
Apollo’s acquisition of The Venetian Resort last month, CNBC added, could cross-promote a Yahoo-branded sports betting product.
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