Toronto-based Playmaker has acquired The Sports Drop, an American sports media company that focuses on NFL, NBA, MLB, and collegiate sports coverage. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Both corporations operate in the same digital sports media space. Playmaker, which publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV), said that this acquisition will build on its reach in the United States (US), which is a key market for the company as it continues to make inroads into both English-speaking and US Hispanic sports fans.
The Sports Drop founder, Mike Bellom, has joined Playmaker’s senior leadership team as head of paid media. The rest of The Sports Drop employees will continue in their roles.
Launched in 2021, Playmaker is a digital sports media company that works in the intersection of sports, gambling, media, and technology. The acquisitive company said it is building a premier collection of sports media brands that are curated to deliver sports fans to sports betting companies, leagues, teams, and advertisers.
Launched in 2015, New York-headquartered The Sports Drop claims that it generates an average of more than 30 million monthly page views and 200 million monthly ad impressions. As a result of its consolidation with Playmaker, it expects to contribute an average of more than three million monthly users to Playmaker’s North American audience.
A spokesperson for Playmaker told BetaKit that The Sports Drop brand will operate under US and Latin America-based Futbol Sites, which Playmaker acquired last year. The Sports Drop will maintain its branding and operational structure with plans to expand by collaborating with other brands across Playmaker’s portfolio. Playmaker has acquired 11 companies to date.
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Under the ticker symbol ‘PMKR,’ Playmaker began trading on the TSXV in June last year via a reverse takeover of capital pool company Apolo III Acquisition Corp.
The startup has acquired a number of companies to expand its reach in international markets beyond North America. In addition to The Sports Drop and Futbol Sites, Playmaker also acquired United Kingdom-based Two-Up, a digital product agency focused on the online gaming industry.
In April 2021, Playmaker raised $24 million via private placement, which consisted of an approximately $16 million brokered offering led by Canaccord Genuity, and a non-brokered offering that raised nearly $8 million.
Most recently, Playmaker entered into a multi-year credit facility with a Canadian Tier 1 Bank totalling $15 million USD. The bank participating in this deal was not disclosed. Playmaker earmarked this capital to use for acquisitions and general corporate purposes.
Featured image from Jimmy Conover via Unsplash.