Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Broadcasting and Media » MultiChoice ups stake in BetKing for R3.8-billion

    MultiChoice ups stake in BetKing for R3.8-billion

    By Duncan McLeod10 June 2021
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    MultiChoice Group is increasing its stake in BetKing, an Africa-focused sports-betting platform operator, to a non-controlling 49% investment for R3.8-billion.

    The deal comes after MultiChoice in November bought 20% of BetKing for R1.8-billion.

    As part of the new transaction, BetKing will firstly create an employee share option plan by allocating 10% of the company’s equity for this purpose. BetKing shareholders will have their stake in the business diluted as a result, with MultiChoice’s initial stake going down from 20% to 18%.

    It is important for MultiChoice to maintain its relevance and grow its share of engagement time and consumer spend…

    MultiChoice, through its subsidiary Mwendo, will then buy 9.6% of BetKing for US$100-million as part of an equity raise to fund expansion, resulting in the broadcaster’s stake increasing to 27.6%. Mwendo will also acquire a 21.4% stake in BetKing from minority shareholders, who are exiting partially, for $181.5-million, pushing the stake to 49%.

    Steps 2 and 3 will occur concurrently, after the allocation of the shares for the staff incentive scheme. The total transaction consideration, which amounts to R281.5-million (R3.8-billion at the time of writing), will be debt funded, MultiChoice said.

    Earn-out

    As a result of the transaction, the earn-out from the original 20% investment transaction concluded last year will be triggered and a further $31-million will be payable. This will require MultiChoice to raise a total of R4-billion in rand-denominated debt.

    Explaining the rationale for the deal, MultiChoice said consumers have a “growing abundance of entertainment options available to them. It is therefore important for MultiChoice to maintain its relevance and grow its share of engagement time and consumer spend by expanding its entertainment platform with a more comprehensive offering and a greater number of products and services.

    “Pursuing an adjacency such as sports betting creates a natural extension to the MultiChoice video entertainment platform to further enhance its product set. Well established in Europe and fuelled by its legalisation in the US in 2018, the global sports betting market is currently experiencing a surge in growth.”

    The transaction is expected to close in August 2021, once the conditions precedent have been met. These include finalisation of the employee share incentive scheme; securing of debt funding by MultiChoice; agreement of an appropriate exit clause for minorities who are partially selling down to recover some of their initial investment; and regulatory approvals by the relevant competition or antitrust authorities in several jurisdictions. – © 2021 NewsCentral Media



    BetKing MultiChoice Mwendo top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleNo Xbox, no problem: Microsoft in talks with TV makers on cloud gaming
    Next Article Eskom cuts maintenance to the bone – but still the lights go off

    Related Posts

    MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

    12 June 2025

    MultiChoice’s TV empire shrinks – but its ‘side hustles’ are holding strong

    12 June 2025

    MultiChoice is bleeding subscribers

    11 June 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.