Benzinga | Oct 27, 2020 06:36AM EDT

DMYD Shares Surge On Merger Talks With UK-Based Genius Sports

Genius Sports Group, a London-based sports betting-data company, aims for a public listing through the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) route by merging with dMY Technology Group Inc II (NYSE: DMYD), Bloomberg reports.

Each DMYD unit comprises one Class A common share and one-third of a redeemable warrant. Warrant holders can exercise their option to convert a whole warrant into a Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50.

What Happened According to Bloomberg, the SPAC is seeking $300 million in PIPE funding to back the merger. Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) deals enable share allocation of a publicly listed company to private investors without going through the public offering process.

The U.K.-based company, Genius Sports, features in-game data from many associations, including the NBA, NCAA, English Premier League, and PGA.

The merger deal puts the collective enterprise valuation at $1.5 billion.

Why It Matters In the U.S., sports betting is legal in 22 states and the District of Columbia, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Sports betting is a lucrative source for tax revenues. There is a possibility that other states could also legalize this business over time.

dMY Group II is the second SPAC venture by Glu Mobile Board Chairman Niccolo De Masi, and founder of SPAC GTY Technology Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: GTYH) & Former EMC Corp executive, Harry You.

dMY Interactive Group Inc (NYSE: DMYT), the first SPAC venture by De Masi and Harry You, merged with online social gaming company Rush Street Interactive L.P at a $1.78 billion enterprise valuation in July. At the time, Fidelity Management and Research company agreed to a $160 million PIPE investment in the merger.

Price Action DMYD shares are trading 10.3% higher to $10.84 in the pre-market session Tuesday.