BlueBet Holdings has entered an agreement to acquire certain assets of Merlehan Booking, the Australia-facing sports and racing betting company trading as TopSport.
Under the deal, BlueBet will pay an initial AU$10 million (£5 million/€6 million/US$6.3 million) to acquire the assets from TopSport. This will comprise 70% cash and 30% in new, ordinary shares in BlueBet.
The agreement, announced today (5 February) by BlueBet, will also include potential further payments. These are contingent on BlueBet’s share price reaching certain milestones and the net gaming revenue performance of the assets.
To support the cash portion of the purchase price, BlueBet has successfully undertaken an equity raising. This will raise $15 million in gross proceeds via the issue of approximately 44.1 million new shares in BlueBet.
Why is BlueBet acquiring the assets?
Operated by father and son duo Lloyd and Tristan Merlehan, TopSport offers both sports and racing betting in Australia. In the first half of its 2025 financial year, TopSport posted $198.9 million in turnover and an $11.8 million net win.
BlueBet will only take ownership of certain assets in TopSport. These include its customer database, brand and intellectual property, select material contracts valued by BlueBet and certain employees. This includes TopSport CEO Tristan Merlehan joining BlueBet’s executive team as chief trading officer.
Detailing its decision to acquire the assets, BlueBet noted TopSport players have “attractive wagering characteristics”. These include a skew towards sports wagering, which it expects to deliver material revenue synergies on the Betr platform. BlueBet completed its merger with Betr in July last year and has since adopted the Betr name and branding for its Australian consumer-facing operations.
Subject to certain closing conditions and approvals, the deal is expected to complete in April 2025.
Acquisition improves BlueBet’s profitability and scale at Bluebet
Commenting on the deal, BlueBet CEO Andrew Menz said it fits in with a wider, long-term goal of driving shareholder value.
“The acquisition of TopSport materially enhances BlueBet’s profitability and scale, is highly accretive for our shareholders and brings us closer to our strategic target of 10%+ market share in Australia,” he said.
“Inorganic growth remains a key opportunity. We have a laser focus and a repeatable M&A model to drive shareholder value by further consolidating the Australian wagering market.
“This transaction is a blueprint for further M&A and delivers a high conversion of net gaming revenue to EBITDA as we leverage our previous investment in our proprietary technology, brand and best-in-class management team.”
TopSport CEO Merlehan also welcomed the deal. He said TopSport conducted a “thorough” process to identify the best partner, with BlueBet the “clear choice”.
“BlueBet’s recent and long-term record in successful customer migrations and scaling wagering businesses is unrivalled in this market and I am pleased to play a key role in its bright future as we grow our share of the Australian wagering market.
“I am very proud of what we have achieved at TopSport. Customers will continue to receive the same levels of service going forward, together with the benefits of a significant uplift in their wagering experience.”
BlueBet reveals Q2 growth
The acquisition comes after BlueBet also published details of its financial performance in Q2.
Turnover was up 131% at $357 million for the three months to 31 December 2024, while gross win increased 146% to $52.2 million. Net win in Q2 also rocketed by 142% to $39.2 million.
The update also included certain data for H1, with this being the first half as a combined business following the Betr merger. Turnover for the six-month period jumped 116% to $645.1 million, gross win 128% to $91.3 million and net win 120% to $67.4 million.
On top of this, BlueBet was normalised EBITDA positive for the half – ahead of schedule for the enlarged business.
“We reached this milestone ahead of schedule through strategic customer reactivation, product and platform delivering higher margins, a strong performance during the Spring Racing Carnival and the accelerated realisation of cost and revenue synergies,” Menz said.
“This momentum has continued into January, as we continue to focus on profitably scaling the business through organic and inorganic growth. Our market-leading product, experienced team and ready-to execute M&A playbook remain key strategic differentiators for us.”
Robert Fletcher
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