Signing Day Sports acquires Swifty as part of sports betting and casino expansion
Outfit behind software for young athletes aiming to secure scholarships has agreed to acquire majority of online gambling supplier Swifty Global in a deal that will combine the two companies and trade on NYSE American
Signing Day Sports has signed a binding term sheet to acquire at least 95% of Dear Cashmere Group, the company behind sports betting and online casino supplier Swifty Global.
Signing Day Sports operates a software service designed to help young athletes gain exposure to college and professional organizations to strengthen their chances of gaining scholarships, roster opportunities, contracts, and NIL endorsements.
Signing Day Sports is now looking to venture into the gambling sector, with the purchase of Swifty expected to be the first in a series of deals for sports betting and casino suppliers.
The deal is structured so Signing Day Sports will not need to make any cash payment to Swifty. Instead, the transaction will be all equity, with Signing Day Sports acquiring CEO James Gibbons and chair Nicolas Link’s common and preferred stock – equating to 95% of the business.
Gibbons and Link will receive a number of Signing Day Sports common stock equal to 19.99% of the issued and outstanding stock in the business.
Once the deal completes, Signing Day Sports intends to list the combined company on the NYSE American. Swifty will continue to be run by Gibbons, with Signing Day Sports becoming a subsidiary of the new publicly listed company.
The deal values Swifty at $156m, with both companies also collectively seeking to raise at least $2m in financing to be used towards working capital.
As a supplier to a number of online gambling operators, Swifty already boasts licenses for a number of markets, including the UK, Ireland, South Africa, and Curaçao, while it is expected to secure its Malta license in the coming weeks.
Swifty has its own licensed clients in the online sports betting and casino gaming sector in a limited number of jurisdictions. By the end of full-year 2023, it had generated more than $128m in revenue as well as a net profit of $2.4m.
Gibbons issued an optimistic update on what the future could look like for the new company.
He explained: “Our team has worked tirelessly over the past four years to develop and grow the business organically in a profitable and cash-positive manner with no debt and minimal dilution, in a highly regulated sector, obtaining numerous licenses and regulatory approvals globally which, we believe, demonstrates our ability to successfully execute a dynamic business plan in multiple jurisdictions.
“After three years of software development and millions of dollars of investment, the company is now perfectly positioned for rapid growth and our acquisition by Signing Day Sports provides Swifty the platform to execute its growth plans.”
Reflecting on the news, Signing Day Sports CEO Daniel Nelson noted that this acquisition represents the firm placing significant emphasis on the sports betting and casino sector.
“It was clear from the beginning that both Signing Day Sports and Swifty had great alignment and synergy,” Nelson said “I believe we can build an exciting global sports technology platform together.
“This marks the start of our new growth strategy of buying and building sports technology and casino gaming companies and other companies that are synergistic with our business.
“We both recognise there is a lot of hard work and important decisions still to be made, but we are confident that together, we will make powerful decisions that will build Signing Day Sports into a leading global sports technology company.”