Gill goes shopping: Tabcorp in $267 million deal to buy BetMakers
Gillon McLachlan has flexed his corporate muscle, with Tabcorp confirming it intends to acquire technology company BetMakers in a deal worth $267 million.
Tabcorp has announced its intention to purchase wagering technology company BetMakers, six months after previous discussions between the two companies broke down.
In what would be a significant shake-up of the broader landscape, the deal for Tabcorp to acquire BetMakers was confirmed to the ASX on Monday morning, and would be at 24 cents per share, giving in an enterprise value of $267 million.
It would be the first major purchase by Tabcorp since Gillon McLachlan took over as chief executive in August 2024 and it gives the publicly listed wagering giant greater strength in the business-to-business marketplace.
“The acquisition of BetMakers will accelerate our strategy across multiple areas. BetMakers has undergone a significant transformation over the past two years and built impressive wagering technology and a talented team,” McLachlan said.
“Accessing those advantages will uplift our own tech capability and fast track our product ambitions, particularly for our unique media and tote offering. Combining BetMakers’ business with our rights, content and customer relationships creates a differentiated offering that will unlock growth and deliver attractive financial returns.
“Tabcorp is midway through its strategic transformation, with strong foundations established, and this acquisition provides us with an excellent opportunity to accelerate our ambitions.”
Rumours of a Tabcorp acquisition of some sort have been swirling in wagering circles for weeks, and given the two companies had discussions in January and February, it was little surprise to the industry when the deal was announced.
BetMakers, itself publicly listed, offers wagering technology services to third party bookmakers, some of which are rivals to Tabcorp’s own consumer wagering businesses.
It supports betting companies in over 30 countries, supplying advanced platforms, fixed odds and pari-mutuel wagering solutions, data services and betting content.
Among those is a “white label” bookmaker offering utilised by around 40 smaller bookmakers in Australia.
The Straight understands that one of the key drivers for the deal from Tabcorp’s perspective is building out its technology capability.
It has identified the improvements it needs to make and sees BetMakers’ expertise and technology, especially when it comes to AI, to be advantageous.
The deal should also, in theory, increase Tabcorp’s global reach with BetMakers having a substantial footprint and strong international tote assets.
That should help Tabcorp expand its global pool co-mingling capabilities and strengthen its presence in overseas wagering markets, while increasing the distribution of Tabcorp’s media and content assets.
As mentioned, Tabcorp already supplies services such as Sky Racing vision to major bookmakers including Sportsbet, with those deals expected to continue unchanged.
Tabcorp’s expectation is that it will strengthen an already profitable business and simplify relationships for customers who would otherwise deal with multiple providers.
It has also targeted cost synergies of $30 million.
“Having spent time with the Tabcorp team, it is clear we share a common purpose: to build a market-leading global wagering and media business,” BetMakers chief executive Jake Henson said.
“Bringing together Tabcorp’s rights, content and relationships with BetMakers’ platforms, data and B2B wagering services will create a more complete and compelling global offering for our customers, and an exciting future for our people.”
BetMakers generates 60 per cent of its revenue from its Global Tote division, which provides tote hosting, international pooling and commingling software, along with retail betting technology.
Its Global Betting Services division contributes about 40 per cent of revenue and supplies bookmakers with odds-making, bet processing, risk management and digital content solutions.
In its latest quarterly results, BetMakers reported revenue of $24.2 million in the final quarter, up 9.4 per cent from the prior corresponding period.
Adjusted EBITDA surged 89.3 per cent to $4.5 million, while gross margin remained at 68.5 per cent. The company also strengthened its balance sheet, ending the quarter with $15.6 million in unrestricted cash.
Its market capitalisation as of close of the ASX on Friday was $179 million, with a share price of 16.5 cents.
The acquisition is slated to be completed in the early months of 2027, but will need the approval of BetMakers shareholders.
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