By Laura McGuire
Ladbrokes owner Entain has snapped up a US sports pricing and analytics firm for £81m, as it continues on its recent acquisition spree.
The betting giant said that on top of the millions its splashed on Angstrom Sports, it will also pay contingent payments – meaning future payments are promised to the seller upon the achievement of specific milestones – taking the total of the sale to £122m.
The FTSE 100 firm already has a presence in the US market, currently operating a joint venture BetMGM, which has proved extremely popular with punters.
In recent months, Entain has expanded its portfolio with a series of deals, including Polish betmaker STS Holding S.A, which it bought for £750m.
While Angstrom is not a betting company, the firm said that it bolsters the company through its simulation-based predictive modelling which creates “highly sophisticated pricing and forecasting capabilities”.
It works by forecasting either the final odds that a team will win or the point spread ( the predicted margin by which a team is expected to win) of sporting events such as the NBA or NFL.
“We are delighted that Angstrom will be joining Entain, enabling us to accelerate the development of the Entain Platform,” Jette Nygaard-Andersen, chief of Entain, said.
“Their next generation forecasting, pricing and risk management capabilities will unlock significant opportunities across BetMGM’s US sports betting offering, particularly in the fast-growing markets of parlay and in-play wagering.”
