Genius Sports to acquire Legend in $1.2bn media mega deal

Summary

Genius Sports has agreed to acquire sports media business Legend in a transaction valued at up to $1.2bn. The upfront consideration is $900m (including $800m cash and $100m stock) with an earnout of up to $300m payable over two years tied to profitability and cash flow targets. The deal combines Genius’s official sports data and fan activation capabilities with Legend’s scaled media platform and syndication relationships, aiming to create an integrated sports and gaming media network. The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 2026, subject to customary conditions.

Key Points

Deal value: up to $1.2bn — $900m at closing ($800m cash, $100m stock) plus up to $300m earnout across two years.
Earnout tied to profitability and cash-flow milestones; payable in cash or stock at Genius’s election.
Legend delivered 320 million annual visits and 118 million unique visitors in 2025, with strong repeat engagement.
Strategic rationale: combines Genius’s official sports data and FANHub activation tech with Legend’s media inventory and syndication to publishers like Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports.
Financial impact: transaction expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted EBITDA margins and free cash flow conversion.
Pro forma 2026 annualised outlook: ~ $1.1bn group revenue and $320m–$330m group adjusted EBITDA with ~50% free cash flow conversion.
Genius standalone FY25: group revenue $669m (31% YoY growth) and adjusted EBITDA $136m (up 59% YoY); cash of $281m.
Funding: Genius expects to fund the acquisition with an $850m loan; targeted leverage below 3.0x and rapid de‑leveraging by 2028.
Longer-term target: post-integration ambition of $1.6bn revenue by 2028, ~35% adjusted EBITDA margin and ≥60% free cash flow conversion.
Closing timing: expected in Q2 2026, subject to customary conditions and approvals.

Content summary

Genius Sports announced a purchase agreement to buy Legend, a sports media business with significant audience scale and syndication partnerships, for up to $1.2bn. The upfront consideration comprises predominantly cash, with a material earnout that aligns Legend’s post-close performance to Genius’s objectives. Management positions the deal as transformational, creating the only company operating both official sports data and a large media/advertising platform. The combined group is projected to materially increase revenue and margins on a pro forma basis, with clear targets for de‑leveraging and accelerated monetisation using Genius’s FANHub activation platform and broader partner network.

The announcement included preliminary FY25 results for Genius, showing strong top-line and margin momentum. Leadership emphasised improved monetisation, inventory scale and higher-margin revenue driven by integrating Legend’s assets and audience with Genius’s data and technology stack.

Context and relevance

This is a major consolidation move in the sports-data and sports-media space, merging official live-data infrastructure with a scaled content and ad platform. For operators, publishers and advertisers in sports and betting, the combined company offers a single point to access data-driven audience activation, content distribution and ad inventory at scale. The transaction reflects wider industry trends of vertical integration between data providers, media owners and advertising technology to capture more fan monetisation and boost margins.

Investors will watch integration execution, earnout attainment and deleveraging progress closely — the deal materially raises leverage in the near term but sets ambitious targets for margin expansion and cash generation through 2028.

Why should I read this?

Because this is big — a $1.2bn tie-up that actually changes the game. If you work in sports media, betting, advertising or invest in the sector, this deal reshuffles who owns audiences, data and ad inventory. We read the detail so you don’t have to: quick takeaways, deal economics and what it means for monetisation and margins are all here.