Ladbrokes owner Entain snaps up Israeli livescore sports media firm in $160m deal
365scores mobile live app covers 10 sport categories across 2,000 competitions globally, providing users with live push notifications and feed on results and personalized news
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
Israeli sports media and content startup 365scores has been snapped up by UK sports betting and gambling giant Entain plc in a deal worth $160 million.
Entain announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of 365scores for $150 million in a transaction that also includes contingent payments of a total of up to $10 million.
Founded in 2010 by CEO Ami Serkis, CRO Yevgeny Brener, CTO Roei Aharoni, and VP of Research and Development Roy Hayumi, the sports tech firm has developed a live scores game tracking mobile app for sports fans and users to follow their favorite teams and athletes and get live push notifications on real-time results, in-depth stats, editorial and social content, and personalized news feeds.
London Stock Exchange-traded Entain said that it seeks to use 365scores’ “deep expertise in data-driven sports media content” to improve and expand its offerings of interactive content and experiences of its users. The British group with a market cap of about $9.2 billion is the owner of Coral and Ladbrokes betting shops and Eurobet, as well as gaming brands Foxy Bingo, Gala, GiocoDigitale, Ninja Casino, Optibet, Partypoker and PartyCasino.
“The acquisition unlocks further growth opportunities and supports our global strategic ambitions,” Entain said in a filing to the London Stock Exchange.
The 365scores app covers 10 sports categories, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, tennis, cricket, and rugby, tracking more than 2,000 competitions around the world such as the NFL, NBA, English Premier League, Champions League, Spanish LaLiga, German Bundesliga, EuroLeague, Wimbledon, and the US Open. It also provides sports-focused free-to-play games.
The live sports scores and news startup last raised $5.5 million back in 2014 in a financing round participated by Russia’s investment fund LETA Capital, venture capital firm Cedar Fund, Alexander Ayvazov’s Titanium Investments, and a number of private investors, after its $1.2 million Series A round a year earlier, according to Crunchbase data. Among its angel investors are Tal Elyashiv, co-founder of Spice venture capital.
365scores has more than 15 million active users and is ranked amongst the top five scores apps worldwide, according to data.ai rankings. The live scores game tracking app has served over 100 million fans worldwide since 2012, according to the startup’s website. The firm has offices in Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, London, Sao Paulo, and Dubai.
