Fanatics’ Purchase of PointsBet U.S. Operations Overwhelmingly Approved

PointsBet shareholders approved by a near-unanimous margin Fanatics’ $225 million acquisition of its U.S. business, an action Fanatics called “a pivotal moment” in the development of its sports betting business.

The deal, following a decisive move by Fanatics to raise its initial bid, gained 99.2% approval from more than 195.5 million votes cast early Friday in Australia. PointsBet chairman Brett Paton in an address to shareholders said Fanatics is well poised to challenge a FanDuel-DraftKings duopoly in U.S. sports betting given the Michael Rubin-led company’s “strong brand and an extensive sports customer base with a fanatical interest in sports.”

“Fanatics identified in PointsBet many of the attributes needed to be successful in entering the online market,” Paton said.

The deal is now targeted for initial completion in August, following regulatory approvals, in which Fanatics will pay $175 million, followed by the other $50 million in early 2024. 

“This is a pivotal moment for Fanatics Betting and Gaming that will accelerate our growth in the legal online sports betting, advance deposit wagering, and iGaming markets in the United States,” the company said. “We will have more details to share in the coming weeks on how the acquisition of PointsBet U.S. businesses will bring to life our unique vision for Fanatics Betting and Gaming.”

PointsBet, meanwhile, will now focus on its Australian and Canadian operations.

“We will reorganize to remove the layers of overhead which were necessary to run a much-larger company,” Paton said.