SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Following the news that DraftKings is buying its own sports betting platform in the form of SBTech, Kambi has made the move to halt trading in its shares after its stocks plunged 30%.
As a result, a statement has been released by Kambi Group’s CEO Kristian Nylén in order to try and ease concern amongst investors.
The statement read: “Kambi has today been made aware of DraftKings’ proposed deal. It is of course not up to me to comment on the strategic choices of DraftKings, but in this context I would like to emphasise that Kambi has successfully built a strong position in the US and our partner network consists of high-quality, visionary operators, both in the US and across the world.
“Furthermore, we believe the combination of a competitor and a high-profile operator has the potential to strengthen the appeal of Kambi in future sales processes.
“Kambi recently signed a renewed deal with DraftKings and, as per that agreement, we will continue to provide the same high levels of product and service that enabled DraftKings to become a leading player across multiple US states. No notice of termination has been given; should that type of information be given, we will inform the market.”
The news of the Kambi’s stock plunge comes after the announcement of a definitive business combination agreement being struck between Kambi’s US partner DraftKings, Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp and SBTech.
As a result, the three organisations will be merged into one under the DraftKings name to become the only vertically-integrated pure-play sports betting and online gaming company based in the United States.
At the time, Jason Robins, co-founder and CEO of DraftKings, stated: “The combination of DraftKings and SBTech’s highly innovative and proven technology platform creates a vertically-integrated powerhouse.
“I look forward to building significantly upon our goals of continuing our state-by-state rollout and creating the most entertaining and engaging customer experiences for sports fans globally.”
The new DraftKings is set to continue to be led by Robins and will retain DraftKings’ management team, including co-founders Paul Liberman and Matt Kalish. As well as this SBTech’s management team will also be integrated into the organisation.
At the time, Harry E. Sloan, Founding Investor of Diamond Eagle, concluded: “We are pleased to bring DraftKings and SBTech together as one public company. DraftKings is already a premier online fantasy sports and betting platform.
“With the full integration of SBTech’s technology and innovative product expertise coupled with the right capitalization, DraftKings will be in a great position to continue its ambitious expansion plans in the United States.”
