DraftKings, the online gambling and fantasy sports betting company, will go public during the first half of 2020.
This move will make DraftKings the "only publicly traded pure-play sports betting and online gaming company in the U.S." The company will trade on Nasdaq
Going public will be made possible due to an acquisition by Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp
Diamond Eagle will acquire both DraftKings and SBTech, a business-to-business (B2B) gambling technology company, and will change its name to Draft Kings Inc.
Founding investor of Diamond Eagle Harry E. Sloan said the SPAC is "pleased to bring DraftKings and SBTech together as one public company. DraftKings is already a premier online fantasy sports and betting platform," Sloan pointed out. "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."
Also seeming to have high hopes for the merger and future of the new public company is Gavin Isaacs, SBTech's Chairman. "The combination of DraftKings and SBTech brings together two tech-native companies with the customer at their cores," Isaacs said. "We are excited about the opportunity to join a company with a similar innovation DNA and create a unique and differentiated player in global sports betting and online gaming."
DraftKings was founded in 2012 by Jason Robins, Matt Kalish, and Paul Liberman and claims to have had a valuation of nearly $1.5 billion.
Robins, the company's CEO, commented on the merger with high regards, highlighting the best qualities of both companies moving forward blended to transform the online gambling world.
"The combination of DraftKings' leading and trusted brand, deep focus on customer experience and data science expertise and SBTech's highly innovative and proven technology platform creates a vertically-integrated powerhouse," Robins said. "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."
DraftKings' largest competitor is FanDuel which has also been looking to go public.
- https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fantasy-sports-and-online-gambling-company-draftkings-is-going-public-2019-12-23
- https://www.draftkings.com/about/latest-press-release
- https://www.onlinepokerreport.com/39457/draftkings-sbtech-acquisition/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielmarcus/2019/12/23/draftkings-announces-plans-to-go-public-in-2020/#783e9a065279
- https://fortune.com/40-under-40/2015/jason-robins/