PointsBet has hired an investment bank to explore a sale of its American business, reports indicated Tuesday.
The news comes amid recent downsizing across the company — several traders and PR personnel had been laid off in recent months — and alterations to two lucrative marketing deals.
The exploration also occurs amid a downturn in the overall macroeconomic environment, of which PointsBet has felt the brunt.
PointsBet renegotiated a marketing deal with NBC and left a partnership with the University of Colorado earlier this month, according to Legal Sports Report.
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So, who are the potential buyers? Fanatics had been rumored last year to be in talks to purchase PointsBet, but that acquisition is unfounded as of now, according to multiple sources. Fanatics had also been in talks to acquire betParx earlier this year, but nothing came of those exploratory conversations.
The sports merchandise behemoth is set to begin its foray into the sports betting space soon, poaching talent across the industry in an attempt to compete with DraftKings and FanDuel, who are far-and-away the market leaders. The two sportsbooks regularly account for 75% of the total handle and revenue in New York, for example. The most recent data from February clocked in at 74%.
PointsBet could only muster 1.9% of the total handle in the most important online sports betting state.
“We believe further industry consolidation is inevitable, and we’ll position PointsBet to take advantage of movement in the sector,” a PointsBet spokesperson told the Australian Financial Review.