SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Super Group, the operating company of Betway and Spin, has finalised its merger with SPAC partner Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corporation (SEAH).
As a result of the transaction, Super Group intends to issue its shareholding on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) beginning Friday 28 January.
The duo expects all closing conditions for the business combination – which will see Super Group trade its shares on the NYSE under the ticker of SGHC – to be completed by the end of today.
In completing the transaction, SEAH expects to generate around $202.4 million from its trust proceeds, reflecting approximately 45% of the publicly held shares that were not submitted for redemption.
Super Group declared its US IPO ambitions last spring, announcing that it had agreed to merge with SEAH the SPAC vehicle of former NFL VP Eric Grubman and investment partner John P Collins, the former operations lead of the NHL.
SEAH’s SPAC approach was favoured by Super Group as ‘providing the best pathway to an NYSE listing’ as dealmakers target a +$4.75 billion valuation, an ambition underscored to investors in August.
A US listing has been a key objective of Guernsey-based SuperGroup over the past year, with the company having been in the process of registering with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in recent months in preparation for the SEAH merger.
Under plans revealed to investors last year, Super Group detailed that the new combination would be 88% owned by its own existing shareholders.
Additional US-facing manoeuvres from the company have focused around marketing and brand awareness, particularly for its Betway subsidiary as the North American sports betting sector grows state-by-state and province-by-province.
In pursuit of this strategy, Betway partnered with the National Hockey League (NHL) in May of last year in a multi-year agreement, securing brand exposure via arena corner logos and a camera visible dashboard.
In preparation for its NYSE listing, this January Super Group published an H2 performance update reporting a year-end revenue net gaming revenue of £1.53 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 36%.
Of significance to the IPO, Super Group highlighted expansion for its Spin and Betway brands, which were able to launch in nine new regulated markets in 2021 in comparison to two in 2020, with the latter securing access in five US states.
