DraftKings offers to buy PointsBet for $195 million, outbidding Fanatics

Sports gambling powerhouse DraftKings has made a $195 million cash offer for PointsBet’s U.S. assets, it said Friday, as it looks to slow the rise of Fanatics.

The offer comes a month after Fanatics agreed to buy the Australian company for $150 million in a bid to boost its presence in sports gambling.

“While we continue to focus on operating more efficiently and driving significant organic revenue growth in the US, we will also seek to capitalize on compelling opportunities at attractive valuations, as is the case with PointsBet’s US operations,” said DraftKings CEO Jason Robins. in a statement. “We believe DraftKings is uniquely positioned to submit this superior proposal due to our scale and corresponding ability to generate meaningful synergies from the acquisition.”

DraftKings, which is publicly traded, has a market capitalization of about $10 billion.

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin told CNBC after the announcement that he is highly skeptical of the deal, which he sees as DraftKings trying to slow down Fanatics.

“It’s a move to delay our ability to enter the market,” Rubin said. “I guess they’re more worried about us than I thought.”

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