January 7, 2021

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That game every kid you know is obsessed with? It might become Wall Street’s new favorite company.

Roblox Reverses Course

Roblox

Less than a month after delaying an IPO, Roblox says it now plans to go public through a direct listing.

The move comes after the user-generated gaming platform raised $520 million in a Series H funding round. Roblox is now valued at $29.5 billion — up significantly from its $4 billion valuation last February.

The lead investors were Dragoneer Investment Group and Altimeter Capital, a recent investor in apparel resale platform StockX. Warner Music Group reportedly made an eight-figure investment. The record company previously partnered with Roblox to host virtual concerts.

Roblox filed with the SEC for an IPO on Nov. 19, and expected to raise $1 billion. But in December, the company postponed the plan as it looked to raise its IPO price.

Roblox had 31.1 million daily active users and generated $589 million in revenue through the first three quarters of 2020, up 82% and 68%, respectively, from the same period in 2019.

The platform’s games are regularly played by an estimated 75% of children aged 9-12.

Entain’s Next Gamble

Danrok via Wikimedia Commons

British gambling company Entain has made a $342.58 million offer to buy Swedish-based sports betting firm Enlabs AB as it looks to expand into new regulated markets. 

The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of this year, follows MGM Resorts’ rejected $11 billion takeover bid for Entain, formerly GVC Holdings. MGM and Entain are partners in Roar Digital, the parent of BetMGM and PartyPoker.

Entain became one of the largest gambling companies in the U.K. when it acquired Ladbrokes in 2018. The company also includes brands like sportsbook Bwin, a significant sponsor of European soccer.

BetMGM could be live in at least 20 U.S. states by the end of 2021. It’s often considered one of the operators primed to secure third-place market share behind FanDuel and DraftKings.

While Entain dismissed MGM’s offer — its second in recent negotiations — the latter is discussing ways to make its offer more enticing. Entain said the proposal “significantly undervalued” the company.

An MGM acquisition of Entain would create one of the largest land-based and online-focused gambling companies in the industry.

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Big Pizza Spend

iSpot TV

Domino’s has spent nearly $60 million pushing its “Pizza Pit Stop” ad featuring NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin.

Since debuting in early November, nearly half the ad spend has been during sports programming. Three of the biggest spending areas:

  • $13.1 million during NFL programming
  • $8.2 million during college football
  • $800,000 during SportsCenter

A football-focused spend comes with big viewership numbers. NFL games accounted for seven of the top 10 U.S. telecasts in 2020.

The Domino’s ad has reportedly been a hit with viewers — and despite the hefty price tag, Domino’s has spent 39% less on advertising overall than it did in the same period in 2019. 

Before starring in the commercial, Hamlin partnered with Michael Jordan to launch the 23XI NASCAR team with driver Bubba Wallace.

Other Headlines

Other Headlines

  • Tennessee-Chattanooga fired assistant football coach Chris Malone Thursday after a racist tweet in which he mocked Georgia politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams.
  • Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. 
  • The New York Mets are acquiring Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor and pitcher Carlos Carrasco in a trade, the first major move under new owner Steve Cohen. 
  • Athletes, coaches, trainers, physical therapists, medical and equipment staff and officials planning to attend the 2021 Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament will have to show seven consecutive negative COVID-19 tests before arriving in Indianapolis.

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Market Movers

Market Movers

U.S. stocks climbed to record heights again Thursday, rallying on the prospects of additional stimulus money with a Democrat-controlled senate. Here’s a look at how sports stocks performed:

Up

Scientific Games Corp. (NASDAQ: SGMS) was up 7.58%

Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) was up 7.12%

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ: PLAY) was up 5.82%

Down

FOX Corp. (NASDAQ: FOX) was down 3.91%

Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI) was down 3.72%

Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ: SBGI) was down 3.04%

(Note: All as of market close on 1/7/21)

Featured on FOS

Featured on FOS

Affirm Holdings, a lender that provides payment installment loans for online shoppers, is seeking nearly $935 million in an IPO. Connected fitness company Peloton accounted for about 28% of Affirm’s total revenue in the 12 months through June 2020.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo is changing his tune on sports betting policies. At next week’s State of the State address, Cuomo will introduce mobile sports betting as a potential revenue-generating measure to offset the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

WNBA players are widely opposed to Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelley Loeffler. After she lost the Georgia senate runoff election, LeBron James tweeted that he wants to put together an ownership group to take over the team.

Watch to Watch

Watch to Watch

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets: With Kevin Durant out, Brooklyn (4-4) still blew out the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Head coach Steve Nash may look to the same rotation tonight as Durant continues his COVID-19 quarantine. Philadelphia, however, is a different beast than the Jazz. They’re off to a hot 7-1 start — currently the best record in the league.

How to watch:
7:30 p.m. ET on TNT

Betting odds:
76ers -1.5 || ML -120 || O/U 226.5

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