Sports betting media group Better Collective has announced the acquisition of FIFA community platform FUTBIN and its related assets for up to €105m (~£87m).
According to the release, the purchase will be paid in a combination of cash, Better Collective shares and earn-out payments.
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Starting today, Better Collective will consolidate the acquired assets into Better Collective Group accounts. The team behind FUTBIN will continue to provide assistance to ensure continued development of the platform.
Moreover, the platform will reportedly be subject to investments going forward.
According to the release, the acquisition of FUTBIN and its associated domains is an important milestone in Better Collective’s ambition of becoming a leading digital sports media group. The group expects to create significant synergies across its esports portfolio by developing products and services from a joint infrastructure in order to effectively scale the esports brands to reach a larger audience.
Besides FUTBIN, Better Collective’s esports and gaming portfolio includes CS:GO publication HLTV.org, which was acquired in early 2020 for €34.5m (~£28.6m).
Jesper Søgaard, CEO and Co-founder of Better Collective, commented: “Esports is maturing and attracting more and more people globally — also professional athletes. Acquiring FUTBIN and related assets is a clear testament to Better Collective’s ambition of creating a platform that reaches esports audiences across the world.
“We are very impressed with the high growth profile and the technology behind Futbin and the other assets in the portfolio. We expect to see significant positive synergistic effects with Better Collective’s business going forward”.
FUTBIN is a FIFA community platform that provides the game’s player base with insights into FIFA’s ‘Ultimate Team’ game mode. This includes providing details such as current player prices, as well as guides on squad builders and challenges. The brand recently launched the FUTBIN app.
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In connection with the acquisition, Better Collective increased its financial targets for 2022 from €80m (~£66.3m) to €85m (~£70.4m) EBITDA.
The updated financial target supposedly reflects the addition of eight months of operational income from the acquired assets after the inclusion of expected added costs to further develop the business.
Esports Insider says: Based on the high purchase price, it is safe to say that Better Collective is confident in FUTBIN’s future success. Having already covered CS:GO and FIFA markets, the group is likely to continue expanding its portfolio in the future by acquiring brands within other titles.
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