One of the transactions has completed, while the other is due to complete in Q4 2023.
The aggregate purchase prices for the sales are paid in three tranches: €12.8m in Q4 2023, €3.5m in Q4 2024, and €3.5m in Q2 2025.
Sale proceeds will primarily be used to repay debt, thereby reducing Catena Media’s leverage ratio.
The transactions will give rise to an impairment charge of €2.7m.
Catena Media’s Italian sports betting and casino brands generated combined revenue in the 12 months to September 2023 of approximately €7.8m, as well as EBITDA of €3.4m.
Catena Media CEO Michael Daly stated: “We are pleased today to have secured a positive outcome for our Italian sports betting and casino brands. We believe their new ownerships will provide them with the right environment to prosper and grow.
“The sales further sharpen our strategic focus and strengthen our financial position, allowing us to streamline operations further and redeploy capital into our core areas as we double down on capturing expanding opportunities in regulated markets in the Americas.”
Strategic review completed
The sale of the Italian assets marks the end of Catena Media’s strategic review, which the group initiated in May 2022.
Throughout the past 18 months, Catena Media has sold several brands, including its former flagship brand AskGamblers, which was acquired by GiG for €45m.The firm also sold its UK and Australian sports betting brands for €6m.
The affiliate said once the proceeds of all asset sales have been fully received, the divestments executed as part of the review will raise a total of approximately €76m.
In addition, the strategic review resulted in annualised cost savings of around €3.8 to €4.2m, largely through streamlining support functions in the group’s European operations.
US focus
This realignment, the business said, reflects “Catena Media’s belief that stable, regulated markets offer the best framework for long-term engagement and sustainable growth over time”.
Daly added: “Today marks the completion of our transition into a group with a crystal-clear focus on stable, regulated markets, notably in the Americas.
“The divestments we have made have improved our financial position significantly, and now that the streamlining process is complete, we can devote our full resources and attention to capturing the long-term growth opportunity we see ahead.”
Catena Media also reported a 28% year-on-year revenue decrease to €15.9m in Q3, primarily due to the strategic transition of some contracts in North America from CPA to revenue share.
As a result, the group’s stock fell more than 20% in the early hours of trading.
