Key points:
- Sales of its regional businesses were completed in April and November respectively
- The affiliate has become a cash shell
- Costs of closing down the group could reach as much as $13m
XLMedia has issued an update regarding the proceeds of the asset sales related to its North American and European businesses.
In March, XLMedia entered into an agreement over the sale of its Europe and Canada sports betting and gaming assets to Gambling.com Group, which was completed in April. In October, the affiliate announced the proposed sale of its North American business to Sportradar, which was completed in mid-November.
Good to know: XLMedia's H1 financial report showed a significant drop in revenue
With the completion of both disposals, XLMedia became an AIM Rule 15 Cash Shell and has proposed to undertake an initial tender offer for up to £16m ($20.3m), which represents around half of its value related to potential total available cash.
The company also reconfirmed that it would not try to make an acquisition that constitutes a reverse takeover or become an investing company.
Though it can’t give an exact figure, the company estimates earnout from its assets in Europe and North America will be between $3m to $4m, and possibly even up to $5m.
As the group closes down, costs of $11m to $13m are expected, which will be used to cover cost areas such as redundancy payments, settling tax in each jurisdiction it operates and so on.
XLMedia Independent Non-executive Chair Marcus Rich said: “The Board wishes to maximise the return of value to shareholders while ensuring that the Group's operations are brought to an orderly close, and are reviewing the structure of the board in overseeing the efficient winding down of the group.”
