The parent company of Triller is in advanced talks with multiple companies that could result in an acquisition or merger, a source tells Front Office Sports.
TrillerNet reportedly had plans to go public. In the process of prepping for a direct listing by year’s end, the company received offers from “a number of large, multi-billion dollar companies,” the source said.
Bally’s is among the companies that have had discussions to purchase TrillerNet, another source told FOS. That source was not a party to the talks between TrillerNet and the other companies.
A Bally’s spokesperson declined comment when reached by FOS on Thursday.
Two other interested companies are outside the sports, entertainment and betting space, the source said.
“We are always exploring all alternatives to maximizing shareholder value,” a Triller spokesperson told FOS on Thursday. The spokesperson declined to specifically discuss the company’s acquisition/merger talks.
A recent company news release stated Triller’s short form video-app has more than 300 million users, including celebrities like Alicia Keys and Eminem.
But its foray into combat sports via the acquisition of Fite TV and its Triller’s Fight Club — which is co-owned by Snoop Dogg — have also drawn attention to Triller.
Triller COO Thorstein Meier told Yahoo Sports that the company would move away from pay-per-view boxing events events that featured celebrity and well-retired former combat sports stars to focus on sanctioned title fights.
Triller had found success in combat sports with its prior events, like last November’s Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. bout. But its September event that featured aging boxer Evander Holyfield and former UFC champ Vitor Belfort was panned on on social media and elsewhere.
Triller was promoting an IBF title fight between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos before the fight was abandoned after multiple date changes. Yahoo Sports reported that Triller lost about $10 million in the process of attempting to stage the fight.
When it planned to go public, TrillerNet executives were pinning the company’s valuation as high as $5 billion.
TillerNet is involved in patent infringement litigation with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. TrillerNet sued ByteDance in June 2020 and ByteDance countersued in October 2020.
That court battle would not impact a sale or merger, a source said.
