Better Collective acquires position in rival Catena Media

Better Collective has acquired a position of greater than 5% in rival affiliate Catena Media.

A similar case within the gambling industry recently saw Allwyn purchase Camelot, following a prolonged battle between the two competitors to secure the Fourth National Lottery Licence in the UK.

In that particular case, two rivals ultimately merged into one. And, while we are some way short of a full merger here, we could be seeing the beginning of a longer-term collaboration between Better Collective and Catena Media.

Both companies have become what is considered a ‘super affiliate’ within the iGaming sector, with both acquiring a series of other affiliates while taking up strong positions within the burgeoning US online market.

However, of late, Catena Media can be seen to have struggled by comparison. It recently underwent a strategic review that concluded in the sale of a prized asset, AskGamblers, to Gaming Innovation Group (GiG).

Meanwhile, its share price sat at SEK 53.68 ($5.15) a year ago. Currently, it is as low as SEK 29.05 – even after a slight bounceback.

Better Collective has clearly seen this as an opportunity to build up a reasonable stake within Catena Media, confirming that it has acquired a position of over 5%. Based on Catena Media’s market capitalisation, this stake would be valued at a sum of at least $10m.

The affiliate says it is “satisfied with the position and will not comment any further on the matter.”

It was only a day ago, in fact, that GiG completed its acquisition of AskGamblers – and all eyes in the affiliate world will now be on just how closely these two rivals end up working together.