Better Collective expands its Swedish position with acquisition of leading sports media brands including SvenskaFans.com and HockeySverige.se

Better Collective acquires SvenskaFans.com, HockeySverige.se, Fotbolldirekt.se and Innebandymagazinet.se from Everysport Group to further expand its position within the Swedish sports media ecosystem.

Jesper Søgaard, CEO of Better Collective: "An important pillar in Better Collective’s strategy is to acquire leading national sports media with strong brands and a loyal and returning following. That’s why these sports media brands fit perfectly into our portfolio. We expect the media to deliver additional growth for our business in Sweden, adding to our leading market position within affiliation and expansion towards general advertisement. We are very excited to bring onboard one of the strongest sports news teams in Sweden and make them part of Better Collective. With our vision to become the leading digital sports media group, we want to be the go-to partner for any brand wanting to gain exposure and engagement among sport fans. This acquisition takes us one step further on that journey. “

Strongly positioned Swedish sport media brands
SvenskaFans is Sweden’s biggest online sports fan community. SvenskaFans was founded in 2000 and covers everything from top-tier football and ice hockey to local leagues across Sweden. Over the past 23 years the sports media brand has grown a large loyal following through user generated content such as game reports, interviews, chronicles and podcasts, with currently over 750 active contributors, and a popular YouTube channel, FanTV. The website has around 5 million monthly visits and solely monetizes through advertising (CPM).

HockeySverige.se is the largest ice hockey news website in Sweden featuring news and reports from the world of hockey including the National Hockey League (NHL), Champions Hockey League (CHL), Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and HockeyAllsvenskan. Boosted by a popular YouTube channel and strong social media presence, HockeySverigie.se has around 2.2 million monthly visits, monetized through advertising (CPM) and subscriptions.

Fotbolldirekt.se is a leading Swedish football media outlet covering news and reports from national as well as international football. The website has around 1.1 million monthly visits and monetizes through advertising and subscriptions.

InnebandyMagazinet is the biggest floorball news site covering the Swedish leagues and national teams. The sports media has around 500,000 monthly visits and monetizes through subscription and advertising (CPM).

Hannes Andersson, CEO of Everysport Group: "We are proud to have developed the websites into some of Sweden's largest news media in their respective sports. In addition, we have successfully commercialized the brands and in all cases also turned a negative financial development into good profitability. Today's deal confirms Everysport's digital innovation and execution capabilities and is a logical next step for both the brands and the Group. We are convinced that Better Collective is a strong and long-term owner who will continue to develop the brands in a meritorious way. We wish both them and the employees all the best."

Highlighted synergies

• Acquiring leading local sports media with a strong brand is an important pillar in Better Collective’s vision and enables the group to increase its presence and leverage its position as a key partner for advertisers in Sweden. The editorial team behind the brands create a strong foundation to grow media products on all relevant platforms.
• Better Collective will utilize its diversified toolbox of revenue streams, as these sports media assets have only been monetized through traditional advertising (CPM) and subscription.
• Better Collective will leverage its industry leading tech and search engine optimization (SEO) expertise in order to grow traffic.

Transaction details
The total purchase price will be 3.7 mEUR paid in three installments and will be financed with cash. Better Collective estimates that the post synergy 2024 EBITDA multiple will be below 3x. The 2023 financial targets remain unchanged following the acquisition.

About Everysport Group
Everysport Group AB (publ) is a group operating in sports. Everysport is divided into two business areas: Everysport Media and Every Padel. Everysport Media owns and develops digital platforms and services in sports and Every Padel conducts facility operations in padel. The group has a total of about 110 employees. The head office is located in Stockholm, and the company also has offices in Norway and the US. The group is listed on the Spotlight Stock Market (EVERY).