Genius calls the acquisition of Legend “transformational,” anticipating an approximate $1.1 billion income run price and $320–$330M adjusted EBITDA on a 2026 annualized foundation, and now concentrating on roughly $1.6 billion income by 2028 at ~35% adjusted EBITDA margin.
Legend is an AI-powered efficiency media community (manufacturers embody Covers.com and Casino.org) with robust engagement—~320M annual visits, 118M uniques, ~9 minutes per session and ~75% return price—whose stock and information will probably be built-in into Genius’s FanHub to monetize throughout sportsbooks, iGaming, promoting and rising prediction markets.
The deal’s economics embody $900 million upfront ( $800M money / $100M inventory) plus as much as $300M earnout, backed by dedicated financing (about $850M secured debt), with professional forma leverage anticipated under 3x and a plan to materially scale back leverage and improve unlevered free money movement conversion to >60% by 2028.
Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI) administration used an organization name to element its deliberate acquisition of Legend, describing the deal as a “transformational transaction” that accelerates the corporate’s technique to monetize sports activities information and fan consideration throughout betting, media, promoting, and broader fan engagement channels.
CEO Mark Locke opened by referencing the corporate’s Investor Day imaginative and prescient and monetary targets. He mentioned Genius Sports beforehand outlined 2028 objectives of $1.2 billion in income, $365 million of adjusted EBITDA, and 60% free money movement conversion. Locke mentioned the enterprise “finished 2025” with estimated group income of $669 million and $136 million of adjusted EBITDA, representing 31% income development and a 20% adjusted EBITDA margin, together with report free money movement era. He highlighted the media phase as the best development phase, reporting 37% year-over-year development in 2025.
Following the acquisition of Legend, Locke mentioned the corporate expects a lot of the dimensions and profitability beforehand focused for 2028 to be “largely achieved in 2026.” On an annualized 2026 foundation after giving impact to the transaction, administration expects roughly $1.1 billion of income and $320 million to $330 million of adjusted EBITDA.
Looking additional out, Locke mentioned Genius believes the acquisition will assist it attain $1.6 billion of income by 2028 at an roughly 35% adjusted EBITDA margin and free money movement conversion of over 60%, exceeding prior targets.
Locke described Legend as a world digital sports activities and gaming media community “built to monetize attention,” centered on an AI-powered platform supposed to seize real-time consumer intent and convert it into income. He mentioned Legend owns media manufacturers together with Covers.com and Casino.org, and in addition supplies hosted options for main media names and syndication for publishers resembling Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports.
Management emphasised that Legend is designed round “moments of intent,” evaluating its mannequin to retail media networks. Locke mentioned that when a participant is transformed via Legend, income is generated from the participant’s lifetime spend, creating what he characterised as long-term, predictable income with minimal incremental price.
Genius positioned the deal as increasing its capacity to take part economically throughout each sports activities information and iGaming content material, whereas strengthening its “picks-and-shovels” method to the sports activities betting ecosystem.
Locke mentioned Legend generated greater than 320 million annual visits in 2025 from 118 million distinctive guests, with a median 75% return price and about 9 minutes per session on its owned and operated properties. He added that engagement depth interprets into greater than $2 in income per distinctive customer, which he in comparison with typical digital publishers monetizing underneath $0.50 per distinctive customer.
Genius mentioned Legend’s platform, information, viewers, and stock will probably be “fully activated” inside Genius’s FanHub platform, which administration described as its unified activation platform for media and promoting. Locke mentioned the aim is to monetize Legend’s owned and accomplice stock via one system throughout sportsbooks, gaming, and broader model promoting, whereas strengthening the corporate’s worth to company companions resembling PMG and Publicis.
Management highlighted iGaming as a selected power of Legend and mentioned the transaction expands Genius’s addressable market, particularly in North America, which it known as Legend’s largest market. Executives additionally pointed to rising gaming classes, together with prediction markets. Locke mentioned Legend has a historical past of figuring out and monetizing new classes early and described prediction markets as creating demand for training, comparability, and choice assist that pulls advertising and marketing spend.
In Q&A, Locke mentioned Genius had already described prediction markets as a possibility at its Investor Day and acknowledged the corporate was already producing income from market makers and benefiting via its advert tech enterprise. He mentioned the mixed sports activities information and fan information would deepen relationships and enhance returns on advertising and marketing spend, supporting development “alongside our league partners.”
CFO Brian described the acquisition as per the corporate’s Investor Day framework and mentioned standalone Genius was performing “exactly as we outlined” in December. He mentioned that on a 2026 annualized foundation with Legend, Genius expects $1.1 billion of income, roughly a 30% adjusted EBITDA margin, and roughly 50% free money movement conversion.
Brian additionally famous a change in how free money movement conversion will probably be offered going ahead: the 2026 and ahead metrics will exclude curiosity and be primarily based on unlevered free money movement. He added that even on a levered foundation, administration expects free money era to be forward in 2026 and “materially ahead” by 2028.
Management laid out transaction economics and financing particulars, together with an earnout construction and dedicated debt financing:
Upfront consideration: $900 million at shut, comprised of $800 million in money and $100 million in inventory.
Earnout: Up to $300 million, break up evenly throughout yr one and yr two post-close, tied to profitability and money movement metrics and payable in money or inventory at Genius’s discretion.
Financing: Committed debt financing led by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank; at closing, Genius expects to incur $850 million of secured debt and maintain its revolver undrawn.
Leverage: Pro forma leverage anticipated to be under 3x, with a path to cut back leverage by greater than half by 2028, pushed by development.
Locke mentioned Genius reviewed almost 100 alternatives over the past 18 months and chosen Legend as a result of it met strategic match, integration, and financial standards. He additionally mentioned the corporate deliberately saved dilution minimal and expressed confidence in lowering leverage via development.
Genius Sports is a world sports activities expertise firm that specializes in accumulating, analyzing and distributing real-time sports activities information and video streams. The agency supplies official information feeds, stay video streaming options and digital engagement instruments to sports activities leagues, federations, broadcasters and betting operators. By integrating information straight from sporting occasions via its community of discipline officers and proprietary expertise, Genius Sports ensures accuracy and integrity for companions who depend on up-to-the-second data.
The firm’s product suite features a cloud-based platform for information seize and distribution, an integrity providers providing designed to determine and mitigate match-fixing dangers, and a set of economic merchandise that energy odds creation, in-game betting markets and fan engagement experiences.
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