South African pay TV company, Multichoice has increased its stake in Nigerian sports-betting company BetKing from 20% to 49% by paying R4.0 billion (USD281.5m). The acquisition is in line with Multichoice’s strategy to “expand its entertainment ecosystem and develop meaningful drivers of future value” and it was was done through Multichoice’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Mwendo Holdings B.V.
The pay TV company first acquired 20% of BetKing in November 2020.
Multichoice believes that it can maintain its relevance and grow its share of engagement time and consumer spend by expanding its entertainment platform with a more comprehensive offering and a greater number of products and services.
According to the company, “pursuing an adjacency such as sports betting creates a natural extension to the MultiChoice video entertainment platform to further enhance its product set. Well established in Europe and fueled by its legalisation in the USA in 2018, the global sports betting market is currently experiencing a surge in
growth. According to a recent report by Technavio, it is set to grow by more than USD134bn between
2020 and 2024, representing a CAGR of 10%. As Africa currently comprises only 2% of global sports betting
revenue, it is poised for significant momentum as it begins to play catch up.”
BetKing says it will use the proceeds of the capital raise to expand its product set and geographic footprint to more markets on the continent. It is currently active in markets such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
BetKing grew its revenue by 43% from $54.7 million to 77.9 million from 2019 to 2020. Its net asset value as at the end of December 2020 amounted to USD100.2m.
