Catena Media

Last updated

Catena Media PLC
Company type Public company
Nasdaq Stockholm:  CTM
Industry Online gambling
Founded2012
Headquarters Gzira, Malta
Key people
Manuel Stan (CEO), [1] Erick Flinck (chair), [2]
Michael Gerrow (CFO) [3]
Brands
  • thelines.com
  • LINEUPS
  • PlayUSA
  • CasinoBonus360
  • bonus.com
  • esports.net
Revenue
  • Decrease2.svg €77 million (2023)
[4]
  • Decrease2.svg €28 million (2023)
[4]
Number of employees
200+ (2024)
Website catenamedia.com

Catena Media is a publicly-traded online gambling information company. It was founded in 2012 and employs 200 people in Malta, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States. It provides tips to gamblers, and profits by selling visitor data to online gambling companies and casinos. [5]

Contents

History

In 2008, childhood friends Erik Bergman and Emil Thidell opened a web consulting agency. For the first two years, the business operated from Thidell's parents’ basement. In October 2010, the pair decided to move to Malta. In 2012, they established Catena Media, with a focus on the lead generation for online gambling operators.[ citation needed ]

In 2013, Catena Media began rapidly expanding, entering the Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish markets. In October 2014, the company completed its first acquisition of the company Finix Invest, and in 2015 acquired eight more companies in the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium. By the end of 2015, the company employed 50 people. [6] In the first quarter of 2017, its revenues totaled EUR 15.23 million (7.46). [7]

In 2020, company chair Kathryn Moore Baker and some other members of the Catena board of directors left in a leadership shake-up. [8]

Websites

AskGamblers.com

Catena Media acquired the website AskGamblers.com in April 2016 for €15 million (US$17.1 million). [9] AskGamblers was one of Catena Media's largest websites, featuring a service to resolve player complaints. Players lodge disputes with the website, and an operator responds. Through the service, $47 million was returned to over 16,781 players in total as of 2022. [10] On December 15th, 2022 Catena Media plc announced to have entered into an agreement to sell its AskGamblers business and associated global casino brands for EUR 45 million on a cash and debt free basis to a wholly owned subsidiary of Gaming Innovation Group Inc., an international provider of services to the online casino and sports betting industry. [11]

Other websites

Catena Media acquired i15Media in December 2016. [12] In late 2016, the company also acquired two British websites - SBAT.com, a sports statistics and betting tips website, for €13 million [13] and CasinoUK.com, for US$13.38 million. [14]

In April 2017, Catena Media relaunched casino comparison site JohnSlots.com. [15] In December, it was announced that Catena Media had purchased Squawka, a football news website which had been going through financial difficulties, for $1.3 million. [16] Catena Media also acquired Baybets Ltd. that same month. [17]

In March 2018, Catena Media acquired the US-based BonusSeeker.com. [18] In July 2018, Catena Media closed its acquisition of the foreign exchange market news website LeapRate.com. [19]

On August 3rd, 2023, Catena Media plc signed an agreement to sell its UK and Australian online sports betting brands for EUR 6.0 million to Moneta Communications Ltd, a leading UK-based sports betting affiliate. The transaction covered the sale of all assets in Catena Media’s UK business, which includes sports betting brands Squawka and GG.co.uk, and all shares in the group’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary. [20]

On November 21st, 2023, Catena Media plc announced it had entered into agreements to sell its Italy-facing online sports betting and casino assets for EUR 19.8 million to two different buyers. The transactions together cover the sale of Catena Media's Italian online sports and casino brands and related assets and mark the group’s exit from the Italian market. [21]

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References

  1. "Catena Media appoints Manuel Stan as new CEO" (Press release). Catena Media. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  2. "Bulletin from the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Catena Media plc" (Press release). Catena Media. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  3. "Catena Media appoints Michael Gerrow as Group CFO" (Press release). Catena Media. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Annual Report 2023" (Press release). Catena Media. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. "Empowering Brands, Driving Results: How It Works". Catena Media. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  6. "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). Catena Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  7. "Catena Media – interim report Q1 2017" (Press release). Catena Media. 17 May 2017.
  8. Menmuir, Ted (27 March 2020). "Catena sanctions board makeover as Kathryn Baker resigns from Chair duties". SBC News. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  9. "AskGamblers.com acquired for EUR 15 million". Reuters. 4 April 2016.
  10. "AskGamblers Complaint Service Report 2015". CalvinAyre.com (Press release). 2 March 2016.
  11. "Catena Media agrees EUR 45m sale of AskGamblers and related brands". 15 December 2022.
  12. "Catena beefs up US presence with i15Media deal". InterGame. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  13. "Catena Media stiger på förvärv". Dagens Industri (in Swedish). 4 October 2016.
  14. Rostislav Danylyak (5 December 2016). "Catena Media приобрела сайт CasinoUK.com". News in Gambling (in Russian).
  15. Harrison, Robin (5 April 2017). "Catena Media relaunches JohnSlots casino comparison site". Gaming Intelligence. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  16. "Catena seals deal for Squawka". iGaming Business. 15 December 2017.
  17. "Catena Media amends earn-out for BayBets acquisition". iGaming Business. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  18. "Catena Media Acquires BonusSeeker.com". Reuters. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  19. Jeary, Nicole (25 July 2018). "Catena Media consolidates its lead in financial vertical by acquiring premium Forex industry news website LeapRate.com". UK Investor Magazine. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  20. "Catena Media to divest UK and Australian businesses for EUR 6.0m". 3 August 2023.
  21. "Catena Media divests Italian sports and casino assets for EUR 19.8 million". 21 November 2023.