Bally’s Buys Monkey Knife Fight in $90 Million Stock Deal
Bally’s is buying fantasy sports company Monkey Knife Fight in an all-stock deal worth roughly $90 million, the company’s latest acquisition to improve its position in U.S. sports betting.
Monkey Knife Fight will immediately receive exercisable warrants to purchase up to approximately $50 million in Bally’s stock, plus the right to purchase another $40 million over the next two years, the company said Monday in a statement. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.
It’s been a dramatic few months for Bally’s; casino company Twin River Worldwide Holdings purchased the name in October and re-branded itself as Bally’s Corp. A month later, the company agreed to buy sports betting platform Bet.Works for $125 million, and acquired naming rights to 21 Sinclair regional sports networks.
Founded in 2018, Monkey Knife Fight has grown quickly into the country’s third largest daily fantasy sports operator, behind DraftKings and FanDuel. Its strategy has been to acquire market share in big states that don’t yet offer legal mobile gambling, like Florida, Texas and California, with the intention of offering sports betting once those states allow it.
The company has roughly 180,000 registered users and 80,000 depositing players, Bally’s said in its release. It also operates in 37 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Canada, which should give the company valuable geographic customer data.
Bally’s owns and manages 11 casinos in seven states. Its shares are up 3% in pre-market trading Monday morning.
Canaccord Genuity served as financial advisor to Monkey Knife Fight on the deal.
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