iGaming Affiliate Network Case Study

The founders of an igaming affiliate network had been approached by a series of entities, which had expressed an interest in acquiring all or part of the network. They were therefore considering an exit strategy.

The network in question was set up in 2013 and consisted of 30 independent URLs, focusing mainly on casino, slots and poker. Through a combination of blogs, authority sites, free game sites, reviews and exact match domains, the network achieved a consistent and healthy influx of organic traffic, and used occasional paid strategies where required. It had recurrent affiliate revenues from igaming operators through a distributed revenue strategy.

rb.capital was approached by the founders for advice and a view on the current financials to gain an understanding of an optimal valuation window. Upon initial review, it became clear that the enterprise valuation (EV) had the potential to be higher than the initial indicative offers made by the interested buyers. rb.capital advised the affiliate to initiate a preliminary business review, at the end of which, if the founders were satisfied with the outcome, RB would initiate a formal sales process.

The due diligence and discovery process consisted of the following steps:

The analysis and risk plan covered financial, technical, product, branding, IP, acquisition and partner due diligence, and a structured alignment plan applied to each.

The review process took five weeks, during which rb.capital was on site with the founders to undertake all of the activities outlined. Through this process it became clear there were a number of aspects of the affiliate network that could be corrected, aligned and/or rightsized ahead of any impending due diligence from would-be buyers, thereby setting correct expectations as to short- and medium- term plans for the business.

At the end of this process, rb.capital provided a full detailed report, as well as recommendations for the way forward. The analysis included a proposed valuation range, together with an indication of the key strengths, drivers and USPs for the business. The report recommended the initiation of a discretionary bidding process to guarantee the privacy of any serious buyers, as well as the integrity of the seller. It also advised the setting up a full virtual data room (VDR) to structure the information gathered as part of a formal process.

The bidding stage was a relatively quick and straightforward process, facilitated by the ease of information already held in the VDR. Each interested party was subject to due diligence before being able to access the required data. The criteria was intentionally strict and as a result only one in four of the interested bidders were granted access to the VDR.

After a six-week bidding and due diligence process, the buyers were shortlisted to three entities and each had meetings with the founders. The preferred exit strategy was articulated by the affiliate network, and each buyer submitted a formal offer of interest. During this stage, rb.capital advised on the ideal buyer/seller conditions and the preferred buyer was selected based on offer and terms. rb.capital engaged in a final negotiation with the preferred buyer and successfully increased the valuation by a further 5%.

rb.capital then coordinated with all the necessary legal entities and frameworks to formalise the sale. Once the formal transaction was effected, rb.capital continued to work with the founders during the handover phase to help organise and facilitate the transition across both parties.

The affiliate network has now been fully acquired by the buyer, and has successfully transitioned into the buyer’s network.