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Betting data company Racing and Sports is hoping to hit the ASX boards with a $68.1m market capitalisation when it debuts later this month, as it chases a global expansion and a younger demographic.
The business, which provides data and content to the global racing and wagering industries, is offering 19.3 million shares at $1.50 each as it seeks to raise $29m to fund its expansion plans, according to the prospectus lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
About half of the shares on offer will come from founders Gary Crispe and Robert Vilkaitis selling down their stake in the company in a move that will deliver an $11.5m windfall for the pair.
While Mr Crispe and Mr Vilkaitis each have a 46 per cent holding in the data provider, their sale of the near-10 million shares will see them hold just over 26 per cent apiece if the offer goes as planned.
Mr Crispe will stay as chief commercial officer, while Mr Vilkaitis will retain his role as chief technology officer.
Minority shareholder Wayne Crispe will also sell down a portion of his holding, while a further 9.3 million shares will be issued as part of the offer.
The company's run at the ASX boards got a boost last month when it was revealed UK wagering giant Entain would take a stake in the business. According to the prospectus, Entain is taking a 10.3 per cent stake.
The Canberra-based Racing and Sports aims to hit the ASX boards on November 23 following the completion of the retail offer, which runs from November 4-12, according to the prospectus.
In business for two decades, Racing and Sports provides high-quality data and premium content to the likes of Tabcorp, Ladbrokes, bet365, Betfair and BlueBet.
The $29m will be used to fuel its expansion into overseas markets, with the US a key growth segment, CEO Stephen Crispe said.
"The international expansion is what we're focused on at the moment, really being able to supercharge that expansion into the UK and Europe but also into the US market as that starts to come online," he said.
New Jersey, in August, became the first US state to offer fixed-odds betting on horse racing and Mr Crispe said he expected other states to soon follow.
"The US will come online as a fixed-odds betting market en masse across the different states over the next couple of years, I suspect," he said.
"So, there'll obviously be an opportunity there for bookmakers, which are our primary customers, to offer those fixed odds on the racing events that happen there."
Alongside the geographical growth, Racing and Sports was also looking to take advantage of the digitisation of wagering, by creating new "immersive, interactive" products.
"They're products that will appeal to a younger demographic. The days of form guides are gone, by and large, and people are looking for new ways (to punt), particularly around mobile devices where there's the immediacy of informat ion that younger consumers have come to expect," Mr Crispe said.
Racing and Sports increased pro forma revenue 39 per cent in the 2021 financial year from the year prior, while its pre-tax earnings swung from a $600,000 loss to a $1.4m profit.
Its annualised monthly recurring revenue jumped 75 per cent to $6.6m in the year.
Article taken from "The Australian", published on Wednesday, 3rd November 2021, Author, Cliona O'Dowd.
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