ESMG has a clear strategy to continue to grow both organically and through strategic acquisitions, both in Sweden and internationally. The acquisition of TGN will be the largest ESMG has made in the last four years and will be financed with ESMG's existing cash. ESMG's portfolio of high-quality products in sports media and iGaming will, with the acquisition, be expanded with Trav Og Galoppnytt (newspaper and tgn.no), the trading site hesteportalen.no, hest.no and hunden.no. TGN has a number of growing digital consumer services that fit well into ESMG's strategy of developing digital B2C services with subscription or unit-purchase based revenues.

Comment from ESMG's CEO Hannes Andersson:

"We are very happy to announce the acquisition of TGN. Through the acquisition, we further strengthen our position in the iGaming area in the Nordic region. We will be the leading supplier of editorial products for horseracing in Norway and we are building a foundation to be able to grow further by launching new sports-related products. I'm impressed by the TGN team members and in their CEO, Kristian Skullerud, we get a very competent new Norwegian manager who has 30+ years of experience in running media organizations in Norway. We now have all the components in place to grow our business further and launch ESMG as a media house in Norway on a broader basis."

Comment from TGN's CEO Kristian Skullerud:

"By becoming part of ESMG, greater opportunities are created for continued growth for TGN. We get expertise, technical platforms and resources that will enable us to develop both existing and new products further. We are now creating a media house that will not only become a leader in its field, I personally also look forward to putting ESMG on the media map in Norway and leading the continued growth in more niches."

Transaction highlights:

- TGN is Norway's largest media around horseracing

- The acquisition includes Trav og Galoppnytt (tgn.no), hesteportalen.no, hest.no and hunden.no

- TGN will be integrated with ESMG's existing operations in Norway and create Norway's leading media house around horseracing. In the long run, more sports-related media products will also be launched.

- TGN has sales of approximately NOK 20 million and EBIT for 2020 is forecasted to be approximately NOK 0.1 million.

- ESMG acquires TGN for a purchase price of NOK 4 million. The purchase price will be paid upon closing day March 1[st] 2021.

- TGN has a strong management and CEO Kristian Skullerud will be the new head of ESMG's operations in Norway.

- The purchase price will be financed through ESMG's existing cash

- Sellers are private individuals in Norway.

About TGN

TGN was founded in 1949 and is Norway's largest media for horseracing. The product is available both digitally and in paper format. Today, TGN consists of 15 employees where the editorial staff produces news, tips and feature content. The company has sales of approximately NOK 20 million and EBIT is forecasted to approximately NOK 0.1 million, negatively affected by the ongoing pandemic. In 2019, TGN acquired the site hest.no and also launched the marketplace hestetorget.no.

Rationale for the acquisition

ESMG's iGaming vertical is the leading provider of betting and gaming information in the Nordic region and has since 1986 delivered content on sports and horseracing to Swedish consumers. In 2016, ESMG acquired the Norwegian trotting product Stallskriket, and entered into an agreement on content production with Rikstoto. With the brands Stallskriket, Spilltjeneste and Travtjanten.no, a portfolio of B2C products is now gathered. The acquisition of TGN not only enables synergies of content production around horseracing in Norway, but it will also be a platform for continued growth of the entire ESMG portfolio. By integrating ESMG's existing operations in Norway with TGN, Norway's largest media house is created around igaming information that will serve as a basis for the launch of new products. ESMG has successfully launched new media products internationally by adding products to existing technical platforms, such as EPrinkside.com (international hockey site). During the next 12-24 months, a number of new product launches are planned on the Norwegian market.

Consideration and financing

ESMG acquires 100% of the shares in TGN for a purchase price of NOK 4 million. The purchase price will be paid on closing day March 1[st], 2021 and will be financed through ESMG's existing cash.

Conditions and time plan

Closing day will take place on March 1, 2021 and includes all shares in Trav og Galopp-Nytt AS and the wholly owned subsidiary Hesteportalen AS. The prerequisite for access is that TGN is debt-free (with the exception of short-term liabilities and prepaid subscription subscriptions) and has a cash equivalent of six months' operations according to the forecast for 2021. In addition, access is also conditional on the conclusion of commercial agreements.

Any questions answered by:

Hannes Andersson, VD Everysport Media Group AB, tel: +46 70 736 56 25
e-mail: hannes.andersson@esmg.se

Kristian Skullerud, VD Trav og Galopp-Nytt AS, tel: +47 909 10 484,
e-mail: kristian@tgn.no.

This information is such that Everysport Media Group AB (Publ.) is required to make public in accordance with the EU's market abuse regulation (MAR). The information was made publicly available by the Company's contact person on December 29[th], 2020. 

Everysport Media Group (publ.) (ESMG) is a Swedish publicly listed media group with roots in sports and gaming. Our strategy is based on two main components: Content and Media. Within Content, ESMG is a leading provider of performance data, betting tips and sports news. Some of our clients are gaming operators, sports associations and media organizations. Our media portfolio garners over 2 million interactive viewers across multiple platforms, sites, and networks within the industry.