Tabcorp Holdings will acquire ASX-listed BetMakers Technology Group for A$0.24 per share in cash, valuing the B2B wagering technology supplier at about A$283 million (US$200 million) on a fully diluted equity basis and A$267 million on an enterprise value basis.
The two companies announced the scheme of arrangement on Monday. The offer price is a 41% premium to BetMakers’ closing price of A$0.17 on Friday. The BetMakers board has unanimously recommended the transaction.
Deal terms
Tabcorp is buying 100% of the issued shares in BetMakers. Shareholders can elect to take part of their consideration in newly issued Tabcorp shares instead of cash, subject to an aggregate cap of 25% of total transaction consideration. Any scrip is priced at A$1.00 per Tabcorp share, and the maximum issuance is 70.7 million shares, or 3.1% of Tabcorp shares on issue.
Tabcorp is targeting a run rate of A$30 million in annual cost synergies by the end of the second year of ownership. It expects the acquisition to be earnings per share accretive from year two and double-digit EPS accretive from year three.
What Tabcorp is buying
BetMakers develops and supplies B2B wagering infrastructure, racing data and analytics, racing content, and pari-mutuel (tote) technology. It is one of the few listed B2B suppliers built specifically around racing rather than sports betting or casino content.
Tabcorp said the transaction will modernise its wagering technology stack, using the technology rebuild BetMakers has run over the past two years, and give greater scale and diversification to its existing international business.
“The acquisition of BetMakers will accelerate our strategy across multiple areas. BetMakers has undergone a significant transformation over the past two years and built impressive wagering technology and a talented team. Accessing those advantages will uplift our own tech capability and fast track our product ambitions, particularly for our unique media and tote offering,” said Tabcorp Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Gillon McLachlan.
“Combining BetMakers’ business with our rights, content and customer relationships creates a differentiated offering that will unlock growth and deliver attractive financial returns. Tabcorp is midway through its strategic transformation, with strong foundations established, and this acquisition provides us with an excellent opportunity to accelerate our ambitions.”
McLachlan, the former Australian Football League chief executive, took over at Tabcorp in August 2024 and has run a cost and technology programme since. This is the first acquisition of scale under his tenure.
The BetMakers view
“Having spent time with the Tabcorp team, it is clear we share a common purpose: to build a market-leading global wagering and media business. Bringing together Tabcorp’s rights, content and relationships with BetMakers’ platforms, data and B2B wagering services will create a more complete and compelling global offering for our customers, and an exciting future for our people,” said BetMakers Chief Executive Officer Jake Henson.
BetMakers bid for Tabcorp in 2021
In May 2021 BetMakers put an unsolicited A$4 billion proposal to Tabcorp for its wagering and media division, structured as A$1 billion in cash and A$3 billion in BetMakers shares, which would have left Tabcorp shareholders with roughly 65% of the combined business. Entain and Apollo Global Management were bidding for the same assets. BetMakers withdrew after Tabcorp decided to demerge its lotteries and keno arm instead.
Five years later the direction of travel has switched, and so has the price. The A$267 million enterprise value on today’s deal is a fraction of what BetMakers was prepared to pay for a division of the company now buying it.
Approvals and timetable
Implementation is targeted for the third quarter of Tabcorp’s FY27, which falls in the first quarter of calendar 2027. Completion is conditional on approval by BetMakers shareholders, court approval, clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), consents from gaming and racing authorities in the jurisdictions where BetMakers operates, and other conditions precedent.
The competition review is the condition worth watching. Tabcorp is a wagering operator buying a supplier whose B2B customers include racing bodies and betting operators that compete with Tabcorp in Australia and overseas. Vertical deals of this type have been cleared elsewhere in the sector, including Genius Sports’ $1.2bn purchase of Legend, and consolidation between operators and their technology suppliers has picked up across 2026, from Bally’s Intralot’s takeover of Evoke onwards.
BetMakers’ third-party customers will now want commitments on roadmap, pricing and data separation before the scheme goes to a vote. The ACCC will be asking the same questions.
Source: Tabcorp
