South African cable behemoth offers $281.5 million for stake in Adekunle Adeniji’s BetKing

Editorial Team -

South African cable and entertainment behemoth Multichoice has offered $281.5 million to acquire an additional 29-percent stake in the BetKing sports betting platform.

BetKing is owned by Nigerian entrepreneur Adekunle Adeniji.

The offer came after the company’s board granted approval to increase its stake in the sports betting company on June 10, Technext reported. The offer, which would see a 29-percent stake in BetKing and $281.5 million change hands between the parties, is expected to close in August 2021 once the necessary conditions are met.

The transaction will set Multichoice on course to increase its stake in BetKing from 20 to 49 percent. MultiChoice’s move aligns with its strategic plans to expand and diversify its revenue base.

The move will consolidate the company’s acquisition last year of a 20-percent stake in Betking in a deal worth about $132 million (R1.8 billion).

MultiChoice’s initial 20-percent stake will be diluted to 18 percent. In comparison, its subsidiary Mwendo will acquire 9.6 percent of BetKing for $100 million, bringing its stake to about 27.6 percent.

Mwendo will also acquire a 21.4-percent stake in BetKing from minority shareholders for $181.5 million. This is a move that will further increase the stake held by MultiChoice and its subsidiary to 49 percent.

The equity investment will see MultiChoice make a contingent consideration payment of $31 million (R500 million) related to acquiring the first 20 percent of BetKing.

MutiChoice is a pan-African pay-television operator and owner of DStv and SuperSport. The company was formed in 1994 from the subscriber management branch of the M-Net terrestrial pay-television company.

The company’s annual financial results for the year ending in March 2021 were released yesterday, June 10. It revealed that it had 8.9 million paying customers in South Africa and 11.9 million in the rest of Africa as of March 31.

This represents a 7-percent growth year-on-year in subscribers. The subscriber base grew by 1.4 million in the past year to 20.9 million households.

The company’s revenue grew by 4 percent at $3.9 billion (R53.4 billion), while its core headline earnings were up by 32 percent year-on-year to $243 million (R3.3 billion).

BetKing is a Nigeria-based sports betting and entertainment company offering online services in Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia, and agency services in Nigeria. It is known for its brand ambassador, international football star Austine JJ Okocha.

BetKing is a sports gaming company certified by the Lagos State Lottery board and trading under SV Gaming Limited. It was established by Adeniji in 2017.

Adeniji, co-founder and executive director of SV Gaming, was one of the first employees at Bet9ja and helped grow the company’s virtual revenue from its inception. Bet9ja is a popular online bookmaker that offers betting on major sporting events in Nigeria.