Better Collective to ramp up M&A after float

After making eight acquisitions last year, Denmark-based affiliate company Better Collective is looking to accelerate its buying spree after trading in its shares begins on Nasdaq Stockholm in Sweden on Friday. Already this year, the group has acquired Finnish affiliate Premium Administration OU and Danish brand SpilXperten.com, as well as entered into letters of intent to acquire two other European igaming affiliates. It also recently launched a US facing site, us-bookies.com, to establish a position in the US market following the decision to repeal PASPA. However, as CEO Jesper Søgaard tells iGaming Business, there are a lot more M&A opportunities for the company and that’s why it has opted for an IPO. iGaming Business: Why have you decided on a float over other money raising options? It would seem to introduce a lot of extra red tape for a business of your scale? Jesper Søgaard: One big benefit of opting for the float rather than other manners of fund raising is that Christian Kirk Rasmussen and I can remain in control of Better Collective, rather than simply having private equity with veto rights. We love Better Collective, and know the amazing road we have ahead of us, and we are excited to remain in the driver’s seat. Additionally, from a corporate branding perspective, we believe it is quite attractive for us to be a listed company. iGB: Why now? Was the confirmation of Sweden re-regulating a factor and/or are there any other external factors? JS: There are multiple factors that have played into our decision to list right now — but one of the main reasons is that we have a strong pipeline of M&A targets right now, and the injection of capital we will receive will help us meet these goals. iGB: Will your criteria for acquisitions change after listing and what will it be? Is there a starting point in terms of revenues/scale and are you looking to diversify outside of your main sector of sports betting? JS: As it stands right now, we will continue to target sports betting, as our strength in this area is one of our biggest competitive advantages within our industry. On top of that, we are looking to continue building strong market positions in regulated and taxed markets. These markets are much more stable and predictable, making them appealing for ourselves and our investors. iGB: Apart from acquisitions, is there anything else in particular you’re intending to spend the funds on? JS: No, not really. The M&A strategy is what led us to our decision in the first place, and it remains our priority after the listing. iGB: Will you be cutting out or perhaps phasing out activity in unregulated markets after the float as was the case for XL Media? JS: Better Collective is in a fortunate position in that we already have a high degree of our revenue coming from regulated markets, and these markets are where we are focusing our continuing M&A efforts — so the need to phase out activity in unregulated markets is not big worry of ours at the moment. iGB: You’ve mentioned the repeal of PASPA in the prospectus as something that will create new opportunities for affiliates. What plans do you have for the US market? JS: The repeal of PASPA is great news for our industry. We have plans for the further development of own products (for example, us-bookies.com) and are interested in M&A opportunities in the USA. Related articles: Better Collective plans Nasdaq Stockholm listing Better Collective details Finnish acquisition Better Collective confirms Danish acquisition PASPA ruling: the market responds