【melbet sports betting】OpenBet completes management buyout

The melbet sports betting$450m buyout, backed by Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel and involving multiple OpenBet executives, including Jordan Levin, who will stay on as CEO, saw a new entity called OB Global Holdings purchase the sports betting suppliers’ assets.

The deal was first announced in November 2024 and was done in part to facilitate Endeavor’s own take-private via PE firm Silver Lake, expected to close in Q1 2025.

Levin said: “As this new chapter begins, OpenBet is better positioned than ever to drive market expansion and product innovation while defining the future of betting and gaming entertainment.

“Our group is extremely excited about OpenBet’s path forward, and we are confident in our business’ long-term growth profile considering our premium product offering, exceptional talent, and existing momentum in the marketplace.”

OpenBet was originally sold by Light & Wonder to Endeavor in a 2022 cash and stock deal for $800m.

OpenBet to manage IMG Arena until Sportradar sale

In a separate $225m deal announced last week, Endeavor reached an agreement to sell IMG Arena to Sportradar.

This involved a $100m payment to Sportradar, combined with an additional $125m payment to sports rights holders.

The sports data rights business, which had been folded internally within OpenBet at Endeavor, had originally been floated to be sold to management as part of the buyout.

OB Global will own and continue to manage the IMG Arena business until the close of the Sportradar transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in Q4 2025.

Regarding the Sportradar sale, analysts at Regulus Partners highlighted the 5-10% market share gained by IMG Arena was “not enough to gain pricing power, but it was enough to spend a lot of money on rights”.

They said: “IMG Arena’s owner Endeavor even tried bundling through betting services by buying Openbet for US$800m in 2022 (an absurdly inflated price, in our view), only to sell it and IMG Arena to Openbet’s management for US$450m in 2024.

“The latest deal means that Endeavor is paying Sportradar to take on the cost of rights (and probably redundancies) rather than recognising any value in what was created.”