One week after Fubo Gaming launched its first Fubo Sportsbook in Iowa, fuboTV, Inc., on Wednesday said it has entered a binding agreement to acquire France’s number one live TV streaming company, Molotov SAS.
The company said the French deal is a continuation of its efforts to expand its global footprint as it builds an interactive, sports-first, live TV streaming platform.
In addition to its market agreement with Casino Queen to go live with mobile and/or retail betting operations in Iowa, Fubo Gaming has obtained market access agreements in four other states: Pennsylvania via The Cordish Companies, Indiana and New Jersey via Caesars Entertainment, and Arizona via the Ak-Chin Indian Community.
In Arizona, Fubo Gaming also has been granted a Management Services Provider Certification from the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG).
The company said it expects to announce the launch of Fubo Sportsbook in additional markets in 2021 and during 2022, subject to requisite regulatory approvals
Similarly, fuboTV said its purchase of Molotov SAS will help it grow by leveraging Molotov’s unique direct-to-consumer live TV streaming service and its advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) platform, Mango, which combined total nearly 4m monthly active users in France in September.
Under the terms of the agreement, fuboTV has submitted a binding offer to acquire Molotov SAS for €164.3m (approximately $190m using the foreign currency exchange rate as of November 8, 2021) in a combination of cash and equity consideration, of which at least 85% is expected in equity. The acquisition is subject to customary requisite approvals and closing conditions.
The deal is estimated to close some time during the first quarter of 2022, at which point the company expects to provide guidance on how the transaction will impact fuboTV’s financials.
According to the company, the Molotov streaming platform was designed to be easily localized for new markets and languages, facilitating quick and efficient launches in additional countries.
Molotov brings to fuboTV’s international business a freemium model which leverages a free tier to drive user growth and upsell customers to premium add-on channel packages. fuboTV said it plans to leverage Molotov’s strategy and low-cost marketing funnel for international growth while implementing fuboTV’s marketing technology to accelerate Molotov subscriptions.
“The technology capabilities between the two companies are expected to enable fuboTV to launch its interactive sports and entertainment streaming platform on a global scale,” the company said in a statement.
fuboTV said Molotov has distinguished itself in France with a unique entertainment experience focused on live and on-demand TV series, movies, documentaries and kids’ content. fuboTV said it will look to provide Molotov with sports content and sports-first product features.
Molotov will continue to be based in Paris and led by JeanDavid Blanc, its co-founder. Blanc has also been named president, Molotov. Molotov’s approximately 100 employees will remain with the company and fuboTV said it plans to further expand the product and engineering team in Paris. Molotov was founded in 2015 by Blanc (founder of AlloCiné) and Pierre Lescure (co-founder of Canal+).
“Molotov has set the benchmark for ad-supported and subscription streaming platforms in Europe,” David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV, said in a statement. “We believe this strategic asset will help accelerate our goal of achieving global scale and operating leverage as we continue to improve and innovate on our live, interactive streaming TV experience for sports fans and their families.”
Blanc added: “We are thrilled to scale Molotov with fuboTV, with whom we share the same ambition and vision for a live TV streaming platform. Our goal is to provide consumers with a best-in-class streaming experience with premium television content on a global scale.”
fuboTV currently operates in the US and Canada and says it was the first US virtual MVPD to enter Europe with its 2018 launch in Spain. Molotov operates in France, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Cameroon and expects to launch soon in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company also operates in Morocco through a partnership with Maroc telecom.
