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Technology Stocks : Blank Check IPOs (SPACS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (2725)7/24/2020 1:44:48 PM
From: Glenn Petersen  Respond to of 3862
 
More on Rush Street:

REPORT: RUSH STREET INTERACTIVE LOOKING AT US PUBLIC LISTING


POSTED ON JULY 23, 2020
BY ADAM CANDEE
Legal Sports Report

Rush Street Interactive could become the next US-facing sportsbook operator to list publicly, according to a published report.

An article Thursday evening from Bloomberg indicates Rush Street could utilize the same reverse-merger avenue employed earlier this year by DraftKings to go public. The special purpose acquisition company identified by Bloomberg is dMY Technology Group Inc.

Chicago-based RSI launched in 2012 and started its first online gaming platform in New Jersey in 2016. The company runs the only active mobile platform in Illinois, although that could change soon.

Rush Street aggressive in early days

Rush Street is among the most active online gaming and sports betting operators in the nascent US market. Operating under the BetRivers and PlaySugarhouse brands, the company runs platforms in five states:

Colorado
Illinois
Indiana
New Jersey
Pennsylvania

RSi launched the first online sportsbook platforms in Pennsylvania as well. The operator would appear to fit the target for acquisition of dMY, according to Bloomberg:
In February, dMY raised $230 million in an initial public offering. It had said it would aim to buy mobile companies valued at $500 million to $1.5 billion.

Public listing talk buzzing in US

Following a successful public listing in April, DraftKings stock continues to perform well. It reached a high of nearly $45 after opening at $17 and bounced back this week from a recent dip to over $37.

DraftKings saw its market cap eclipse $12 billion at one point while raising $600 million for US expansion plans. Rush Street might not reach those heights but US sports betting operators appear to be capturing public imagination.

That capital raise sparked talk within the industry of which company might next consider going public.

William Hill‘s US arm could be spun off from its UK-based parent as the operator strengthens its hybrid retail/online push. Flutter consolidated FanDuel and Fox Bet under its sprawling umbrella, and could eventually move one out. That likely would not be imminent, though, after raising $1 billion for US growth.

legalsportsreport.com



To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (2725)7/27/2020 7:40:25 AM
From: Glenn Petersen  Respond to of 3862
 
DMTY is up $1.50 in early morning trading. Over the weekend they apparently reached agreement to acquire Rush Street Interactive.

Rush Street Interactive Close to Confirming Public Debut, SPAC Deal Values Company at $1.8B

Posted on: July 26, 2020, 09:14h.
Last updated on: July 26, 2020, 09:15h.
Todd Shriber
Casino.org

Rush Street Interactive, the online casino business of Rush Street Gaming, is reportedly close to announcing it will go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in a transaction valuing the gaming firm at $1.8 billion.

Citing unidentified sources close to the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the iGaming company and blank check firm dMY Technology Group Inc. (NYSE:DMYT) could make a merger announcement as soon as Monday.

Led by former technology executives Niccolo de Masi and Harry You, dMY went public in February, raising $230 million. Shares of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) surged 4.15 percent last Friday on speculation of a deal to bring Rush Street Interactive public, though it faces a tricky road in terms of delivering for investors.

For investors after the acquisition, SPAC returns have been a mixed bag,” said Renaissance Capital in a report. “The majority of SPACs that have completed acquisitions in 2020 trade below issue (13/22), which is also true of SPACs that completed acquisitions in 2019. That said, the space is arguably maturing, both in terms of the quality of companies beginning to be acquired and the management teams forming them.”

dMY will use the $230 million it raised in its IPO plus another $160 million contributed by institutional investors to execute the Rush Street Interactive transaction. Last week, Bloomberg reported the blank check was looking to raise another $150 million to fund the deal, but the Journal puts that number at $160 million and mentions Fidelity among the investors contributing that capital.

It’s not immediately clear when Rush Street Interactive stock will debut or on what exchange it will list.

SPACS + Gaming: Match Made in Heaven

SPACs have been around for decades, but the entities have been scorching hot since last year, serving as the vehicles to bring high-fly acts Nikola, Virgin Galactic and Vivint Smart Home, among others, public.

The gaming industry, online in particular, is proving to be fertile territory for blank check companies. It’s how DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) went public in April. Tilman Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) is could become a public company this quarter via merger with his Landcadia Holdings II, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCA) and there’s talk sports data provider Sportradar is mulling a blank check deal to debut on a US exchange.

The reason many companies, gaming and otherwise, are embracing SPACs instead of the traditional way of going public is simple: time.

It can take between six and nine months for a company to commence a traditional IPO. Conversely, it took DraftKings, as just one example, about four months to debut on the Nasdaq after its reverse merger with Diamond Eagle Acquisition was announced last December. That efficiency is meaningful at a time when markets are comfortable assigning lofty valuations to online gaming companies, but there are no guarantees that environment will persist for six to nine months.

Speaking of Valuations…A merger with dMY will value Rush Street Interactive at $1.8 billion, according to Journal. That’s more than double the pro forma enterprise value of approximately $745 million estimated on Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Online Gaming.

Under the BetRivers brand, Rush Street Interactive operates online sportsbooks in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania, according to its corporate web site. The company also runs internet casinos in New Jersey and the Keystone State.

When the dMY deal is finalized, Rush Street Interactive should have $230 million in cash on hand, according to the Journal.

casino.org