Genius Sports closes $1.2bn Legend acquisition
Table of contents
- Genius Sports Limited has completed its acquisition of Legend, a global digital sports and gaming media network, in a deal valued at up to $1.2bn.
- The transaction adds owned and operated properties including Covers.com, Casino.org and Casino Guru to the Genius Sports portfolio.
- The combined group is targeting approximately $1.1bn in annualised pro forma revenue for 2026, per management guidance.
Genius Sports Limited (NYSE: GENI) has closed its previously announced acquisition of Zeal Ltd, trading as Legend, bringing together official sports data infrastructure and a scaled consumer media network under a single parent company.
The transaction was consummated on 30 April 2026, with the buyer being Lion Bidco (Guernsey) Limited, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Genius Sports. The company confirmed the close publicly on 1 May.
The deal is valued at up to $1.2bn, comprising $900m payable at closing and an earnout of up to $300m split evenly across two post closing years.
At closing, the buyer paid $800m in cash and issued 10,088,781 ordinary shares to the seller, Epos Capital Ltd. Any additional earnout consideration is payable at Genius Sports’ election in cash or ordinary shares.
Data meets media
In its closing announcement, Genius Sports said the acquisition positions it as the only company operating two synergistic businesses across official sports data and media and advertising.
Legend provides a scaled media platform with marketing technology powering owned and operated digital properties including Covers.com, Casino.org and Casino Guru.
In 2025, Legend generated 320 million annual visits from 118 million unique visitors, with more than two-thirds returning on a regular basis.
Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, said:
“Genius Sports has spent years building the data infrastructure behind modern sport. With Legend, we now extend that into the moment where fans choose to participate and act.
“This combination not only strengthens our core sports business but also expands our ability to monetize new audiences in iGaming, increasing the economic value of our platform across both verticals and driving significant cash flow.”
Revenue and EBITDA targets
To finance the deal, Genius Sports arranged a new credit agreement comprising an $825m senior secured term loan and a $220m revolving facility maturing in 2031.
On a 2026 annualised pro forma basis, after giving effect to the acquisition, management expects the combination to achieve approximately $1.1bn in group revenue and $320m to $330m in group adjusted EBITDA, with approximately 50% free cash flow conversion.
The company continues to expect the deal to be immediately accretive to adjusted EBITDA margins and free cash flow conversion.
Looking further ahead, management is targeting group revenue of $1.6bn by 2028, representing approximately 21% CAGR from 2026, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 35% and free cash flow conversion of at least 60%.
GENI shares have fallen sharply since the deal was announced in February. Genius Sports will update investors on integration progress at its Q1 2026 earnings call on Thursday, 7 May 2026.
What comes next
The acquisition raises questions the company has not yet addressed publicly.
Legend properties including Casino.org and Casino Guru review and compare operators that Genius Sports serves commercially through its data and technology business. How the company plans to maintain the editorial independence of those review platforms, now that they sit within a group commercially serving the same operators, is a tension it will need to address.
Through FANHub, its sports fan activation platform, Genius Sports intends to connect its global audience and marketing technology with its more than 2,000 combined sports, media and betting partners via a single integrated platform.
The Q1 earnings call on 7 May will be the first opportunity for management to set out how the integration will be structured and what near-term financial milestones investors should expect.
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