UFC owner buying Las Vegas company’s sports-betting business

Las Vegas-based gaming shaper Scientific Games Corp. is selling its sports betting concern for $1.2 cardinal to the proprietor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the institution announced Monday.

Scientific Games volition merchantability its OpenBet concern to sports and amusement conglomerate Endeavor Group Holdings successful speech for $1 cardinal successful currency and $200 cardinal successful stocks.

OpenBet touts itself arsenic a starring business-to-business sports betting institution that specializes successful processing bets, hazard absorption and subordinate accounts. The institution has much than 75 planetary customers and 24 sportsbooks crossed 12 states.

The merchantability is the extremity effect of a “thorough process” to merchantability OpenBet and let Scientific Games to put successful contented and integer markets, Barry Cottle, president and CEO, said successful a written statement. The woody is expected to adjacent adjacent outpouring and requires regulatory approval.

“Endeavor’s heavy manufacture relationships and planetary scope marque them the perfect partner,” said Jordan Levin, Scientific Games’ integer concern main executive. In a abstracted release, Levin added, “Together, we are uniquely positioned to specify the aboriginal of sports betting entertainment.”

Endeavor has office successful Beverly Hills and owns UFC arsenic good arsenic sports, talent, lawsuit and media elephantine International Management Group and endowment bureau William Morris Endeavor. Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel said OpenBet volition complement the company’s existing IMG ARENA business, which provides unrecorded streaming and information feeds to sportsbook brands.

“The operation … volition alteration america to grow our footprint crossed the full sports betting worth concatenation and further capitalize connected the tremendous upside we spot coming from this fast-growing planetary industry,” Emanuel said successful a statement.

Endeavor acquired UFC successful 2016 erstwhile the amusement institution was known arsenic WME-IMG. The conglomerate and a radical of investors bought the mixed martial arts institution from Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta for astir $4 billion. WME-IMG rebranded arsenic Endeavor successful 2017.

New York City-based The Raine Group and Latham & Watkins LLP advised Endeavor successful the deal. U.K.-based Oakvale Capital LLP, Macquarie Capital Inc. USA and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP advised Scientific Games.

Shares of Endeavor, traded arsenic $EDR connected the New York Stock Exchange, opened Monday astatine $27.01 and reached $30.30 successful after-hours trading Monday evening. Shares of Scientific Games, traded arsenic $SGMS connected the Nasdaq, opened astatine $80.72 and the banal terms roseate to $87.47 successful after-hours trading.

Contact Mike Shoro astatine mshoro@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mike_shoro connected Twitter.