Tabcorp Holdings has agreed to acquire BetMakers Technology Group in a deal carrying an enterprise value of approximately A$267 million (US$189 million), as the Australian wagering group looks to speed up the modernisation of its technology and expand its business-to-business capabilities.
The companies entered into a binding Scheme Implementation Deed announced to the Australian Securities Exchange on August 10. Under the proposal, Tabcorp will acquire all outstanding BetMakers shares for A$0.24 each. The transaction values BetMakers at around A$283 million on a fully diluted equity basis.
BetMakers shareholders will also have the option to receive part of their consideration in Tabcorp shares. The scrip component is capped at 25% of the overall consideration, with the new Tabcorp shares priced at the greater of A$1.00 or the company’s five-day volume-weighted average price immediately before the scheme record date.
The A$0.24 offer represents a substantial premium to BetMakers’ recent market value. BetMakers closed at A$0.165 before the transaction was announced, while the offer also represents a roughly 41% premium to its one-month volume-weighted average price.
For Tabcorp, the acquisition is primarily a technology investment. BetMakers provides wagering platforms, data, trading services and infrastructure to racing and betting businesses, giving Tabcorp an established technology stack rather than requiring it to develop comparable capabilities internally.
Tabcorp plans to combine those systems with its existing wagering, media, racing rights and customer relationships. Management believes the integration can improve product development times, lower technology costs and strengthen the group’s wholesale and international offering.
The company is targeting A$30 million in annual run-rate cost synergies by the end of the second year following completion. Tabcorp expects the transaction to become earnings-per-share accretive from year two, followed by double-digit EPS accretion from year three.
Funding for the cash portion will come from Tabcorp’s existing cash resources and undrawn debt facilities. The company reported total liquidity of A$1.08 billion as of December 2025 and expects pro forma leverage to stand at approximately 1.9 times net debt to EBITDA after the acquisition, below its through-cycle policy ceiling of 2.5 times.
The agreement revives an acquisition opportunity that had previously failed to progress. Tabcorp and BetMakers held takeover discussions before the current transaction, but those earlier talks ended without an offer being made. The latest agreement now has the unanimous support of the BetMakers board.
Tabcorp CEO Gillon McLachlan sees BetMakers’ technology and recent operational transformation as a way to accelerate Tabcorp’s broader strategy, particularly around its wagering, media and tote products. BetMakers chief executive Jake Henson has also backed the combination, pointing to the potential created by bringing BetMakers’ platforms and B2B services together with Tabcorp’s racing content, rights and industry relationships.
Key BetMakers executives are expected to remain with the business after completion to support integration and delivery of the planned synergies.
The acquisition remains subject to shareholder, regulatory and other customary approvals. If those conditions are satisfied, completion is expected during the first quarter of 2027.