Genius Sports Limited to Acquire Legend in $1.2bn Deal
- ACN Staff
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
Genius Sports Limited acquires Legend in a $1.2bn deal, expanding its sports and gaming media network to boost fan engagement and revenue growth.
Genius Sports Limited (NYSE: GENI) (“Genius Sports”) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement (“Agreement”) to acquire Legend, a global, digital sports and gaming media network built to monetize attention, in a transaction valued at up to $1.2 billion, including $900 million payable at closing and an earnout of up to $300 million.
For Genius Sports, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Group Adjusted EBITDA margins and Free Cash Flow conversion while maintaining at least 20% Group Revenue CAGR through 2028. On a 2026 annualized pro forma basis; after giving effect to the acquisition, the combination is expected to position us to achieve approximately $1.1 billion in Group Revenue, $320-330 million in Group Adjusted EBITDA with approximately 50% Free Cash Flow conversion.
Legend monetizes sports audiences through a scaled media network, with world-class marketing technology powering owned and operated digital properties. It also syndicates sports and betting content across major publications, such as Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports.
When sports fans are actively researching teams, players, odds, or scores, Legend’s technology helps connect those fans with relevant sportsbooks, gaming products, and advertisers in the moments they are most likely to act.
In 2025, Legend generated 320 million annual visits from 118 million unique visitors, with more than two-thirds returning on a regular basis. This acquisition will bring a large, highly engaged sports and gaming audience into Genius Sports’ media ecosystem, along with predictable revenue.
Through FANHub, the world’s first sports fan activation platform, Genius Sports will connect this global audience and marketing technology with its full range of over 2,000 combined sports, media and betting partners via one integrated platform.
“This deal accelerates our strategic and financial objectives, supercharges fan monetization, and builds a fully integrated sports and gaming media network,” said Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports. “For Genius Sports and our global partners, it delivers more data, more audience, more inventory and greater monetization of sports fans. The acquisition of Legend will drive higher margins and stronger free cash flow, positioning Genius Sports to immediately transform the market and grow the size and scale of our business.”
“Joining forces with Genius Sports brings together two world-class teams, unlocks unparalleled growth opportunities for our partners and products, and gives us an even stronger platform to scale,” said Nick Kisberg, Founder of Legend. “I am immensely proud of what we have built and the decades of hard work that have brought us here today."
Preliminary Estimates of 2025 Financial Results and Updated Financial Outlook
Additionally, Genius Sports is reporting its preliminary unaudited estimates of financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, subject to normal year-end adjustments:
Group Revenue of $669 million, reflecting 31% year-on-year growth
Group Adjusted EBITDA of $136 million, reflecting 59% year-on-year growth
Group Adjusted EBITDA margin of 20%
Cash and cash equivalents of $281 million
Genius Sports also expects it would generate Group Revenue of approximately $810-820 million, and Group Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $180-190 million in 2026 on a standalone basis. At the midpoint, this represents Group Revenue and Group Adjusted EBITDA growth of 22% and 36%, respectively, and a Group Adjusted EBITDA margin of 23%.
The acquisition and integration of Legend will also set a higher performance benchmark for 2028, reflecting the expanded scale of Genius Sports’ media and advertising platform and accelerated monetization across its global inventory:
Group Revenue of $1.6 billion, representing approximately 21% CAGR from 2026 to 2028
Group Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 35%
Free Cash Flow conversion of at least 60%
Transaction Details
The upfront consideration represents $900 million at close, comprising $800 million in cash and $100 million in stock consideration, with an additional earnout of up to $300 million split evenly across two years post-closing. The earnout is tied to the achievement of certain profitability and cash flow thresholds and is payable in cash or stock, at Genius’ election, subject to customary conditions.
At closing, Genius Sports expects to fund the acquisition with a $850 million Term Loan B issuance, with its revolving credit facility remaining undrawn. Pro forma leverage is expected to be below 3.0x, and the company expects to rapidly delever by more than half by 2028, driven by our strong and visible growth trajectory. The proposed acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co, LLC, are serving as financial advisors to Genius Sports and are providing committed financing related to the transaction. Macfarlanes LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP are serving as legal counsel to Genius Sports.
Oakvale Capital LLP and The Raine Group are serving as financial advisors to Legend. Latham & Watkins LLP and Herzog Fox & Neeman are serving as legal counsel to Legend.
Webcast and Conference Call Details
Genius Sports management will host a conference call and webcast today at 8:00AM ET to discuss the acquisition.
The live conference call and webcast may be accessed on the Genius Sports Investor Relations website at investors.geniussports.com or via the direct link below:
A replay of the webcast will be available on the website within 24 hours after the call.
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