Kambi Group Acquires Data Firm Abios In $30m Deal
As we march ever onwards through the passage of time, sports and esports become closer together. In recent months, it has been revealed that esports is generally regarded as being just as exciting as traditional sports. And, as the overall industry and market grow, esports is becoming increasingly valuable and popular. Now, sports betting giant Kambi Group has made another effort to further unite the two, acquiring esports data firm Abios in a lucrative deal.
Kambi Group, headquartered in Malta, already boasts a considerable presence around the world. In 2014, Kambi Group broke away from its parent organisation, Unibet Group, and rapidly expanded its operations. Today, Kambi employs some 800 individuals, all working hard to provide an in-depth and expansive software platform to B2C gaming and betting operators. Abios, on the other hand, is a relatively young company, focused on esports deep data provisioning.
And The Two Become One
In the candid words of Kristian Nylen, Kambi’s CEO and Co-founder:
It’s become clear that esports could be an important future revenue stream for Kambi, so now is the right time for us to improve our product in this area.
As esports betting becomes a much more lucrative market, the need for in-depth data and statistics grows exponentially. With the range of titles and tournaments expanding with each passing day, this data needs to be richer, broader, and more diverse. In an industry so driven by facts, figures, and analytics, Abios provides a much-needed service. Therefore, it stands to reason that Kambi Group has made an extremely beneficial acquisition.
Furthering his statement, Nylen advised that the current business relationships tied to Kambi’s model are limited to sports betting. However, it’s easy to identify the value of esports betting, and the combination of a traditional sports betting giant and a modern, fresh, esports data organisation will be a powerful one.
Delivering On The Future
Reportedly, Kambi Group has agreed to pay approximately $30 million to acquire Abios. The terms of the deal involve a two-part payment, with the second portion being calculated based on early performance estimates.
Any esports bettor out there understands how the market works. These days, most bookmakers offer a hybrid approach, covering both traditional sports and digital esports. This is the approach that Kambi Group now aims to achieve, furthering its reach, attracting new clients, and diversifying its offering. For Abios, an entirely new field of play becomes available, backed by the infrastructure of a company worth a reported $1.5 billion.
Kambi fully explored this prospect in the official press release:
The combination of these valuable capabilities will enable Kambi to offer a best-in-class esports product and expedite Abios’ growth.
There are companies that exist to provide deep, rich data and statistics for real-world sports, such as football. It stands to reason that as esports grows, so too will Abios’ footprint, and by association, Kambi’s connections.
