PointsBet Announces Acquisition of Banach Technology

PointsBet Holdings Limited has announced that it has entered into a binding share purchase agreement to acquire Banach Technology Limited. The transaction is subject to customary completion conditions and is expected to close in April 2021.

PointsBet will acquire Banach for US$43 million (£31 million/€36 million)on a cash and debt-free basis. The purchase price will be paid 55% in cash and the remainder in scrip (being 1,752,875 Company shares).

Banach is a Dublin-based provider of risk management tech and quantitative trading models that support complex pre-game and in-play betting products across numerous sports, including the four major American sports and international soccer.

Banach was founded by Rob Reck, Mark Hughes, Alex Zevenbergen and Hadrien Lepretre, all of whom played a leading role in establishing the Quants department at Paddy Power. Banach has a team of 40 technology and product staff with deep experience creating products for use in mature and sophisticated sports wagering markets. This acquisition has the potential to position PointsBet as a leader of in-play sports wagering in the United States, just as in-play wagering is expected to grow exponentially.

Commenting on the transaction, PointsBet’s Group CEO and Managing Director Sam Swanell said, “We are delighted with the acquisition of Banach and that it’s well-credentialed team have agreed to join PointsBet.  As legalisation to approve US sports betting accelerates across the US, it has become clear that the in-play opportunity will be very significant and those with the best depth and breadth of product will win.

“Technology is at the forefront of everything we do at PointsBet and we have undertaken an in-house approach to proprietary technology as the key priority. In Banach, we have found a like-minded team of technologists and the acquisition is a preferable approach to developing our in-play capabilities organically, given it allows us to dramatically ramp up our speed to market while still allowing us to own market-leading technology and continue to control our destiny”.

Mark Hughes, Banach CEO said,“I am extremely proud of the business and team we have built over the last few years. We could not be more excited about the burgeoning US opportunity and the role that the Banach team will play in accelerating and strengthening PointsBet’s pre-game, in-play and free-to-play offering in the United States. It is great to be part of such a forward-thinking global organisation.”