Monday December 4, 2023

DraftKings Invests In Vivid Seats SPAC

  • DraftKings is investing in a SPAC that is set to take Vivid Seats public.
  • The company has already made $1.7 billion in investments this year.
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DraftKings/Design: Alex Brooks
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DraftKings is buying into Horizon Acquisition Corp., a SPAC on the verge of taking Vivid Seats public.

The sports betting giant is taking on part of the commitment made by Eldridge Investments, a firm founded by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Todd Boehly. Eldridge is also an investor in DraftKings.

  • The SPAC merger, agreed to in April, values the combined company at around $1.95 billion.
  • The transaction will provide $769 million in cash and stock to Vivid Seats, $225 million of which will come from a private investment in public equity (PIPE). DraftKings is participating in the PIPE.
  • DraftKings is purchasing stock in the SPAC at $10 per share. It has the option to sell shares back to Eldridge at $9.77 per share a year after the merger is completed.

DraftKings has piled up around $1.7 billion in acquisitions this year, primarily from its $1.6 billion purchase of Golden Nugget Online Gaming in August. 

It also acquired sports betting broadcast network VSiN in March, iGaming company BlueRibbon in April, and legal-tech company LinkSquares in July.

Sports betting operator Entain is mulling a $22.4 billion acquisition offer from DraftKings.

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