Sports software provider Genius Sports has agreed to acquire digital sports and gaming media network Legend in a deal worth up to $1.2bn, further consolidating its position in the highly competitive sportstech space.

Legend, which syndicates sports and betting content across major publications including Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports, monetises sports audiences through its scaled media network.

“Our M&A bar is incredibly high,” Mark Locke, Genius Sports CEO, told investors in a conference call following the acquisition’s announcement.

“We reviewed nearly 100 opportunities over the past one and a half years and chose Legend because it exceeded our key acquisition criteria on every measure – strategic fit, clear operational integration, and accretive economics.”

Locke asserted that the takeover is indicative of Genius’ patience as an M&A actor, and that the takeover serves as a reminder that the company will only pursue acquisitions when the target company is capable of operating to its high standards.

Legend generated 320 million annual visits last year and its technology aims to help sports fans connect with relevant sportsbooks, gaming products and advertisers when they are researching teams, players odds or scores.

Locke further added that the takeover of Legend solidifies Genius’ position as ‘the only player in sports data and media driven monetisation, two synergistic pillars powdered by one data layer’ – asserting that this approach will Genius approach to unlocking further value.

“Joining forces with Genius Sports brings together two world-class teams, unlocks unparalleled growth opportunities for our partners and products, and gives us an even stronger platform to scale,” said Nick Kisberg, Founder of Legend. 

“I am immensely proud of what we have built and the decades of hard work that have brought us here today.”

For London-based Genius, the company projects that it will the transaction is expected to position the business to achieve around $1.1bn in group revenue and $320-330m in group adjusted EBITDA as a result of the transactionA.

Through its sports fan activation platform FANHub, Genius will connect Legend’s global audience and marketing technology with its full range of over 2,000 combined sports, media and betting partners via one integrated platform.

The deal follows a recent major South American partnership for the NYSE-listed firm, which will see it deploy its semi-automatic offside (SAOT) technology across 27 top-flight Brazilian stadiums over the next two seasons.

$1.6bn revenue target

Alongside the acquisition, the business has also released preliminary, unaudited financial results for 2025, which highlight strong revenue growth and rising profitability.

For the year to 31 December 2025, it expects group revenue of $669m, representing 31% year-on-year growth. 

Adjusted EBITDA is estimated at $136m, up 59% from the prior year, equating to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20%. 

The 10-figure swoop and positive results come as the company targets group revenue of $1.6bn by 2028 – a figure just over $500m shy of its current $2.16bn market cap. 

Genius has been positioning itself as one of the leading companies in the sportstech and data space in recent years, with arguably its biggest partnership being with FootballDataCo (FDC), the datarights holder for the Premier League and EFL.

Its sportstech competitors have been making moves too, however. Stats Perform recently secured its huge streaming partnership with FIFA, for example, while Sportradar’s acquisition of IMG Arena massively expanded its sports data reach.

Genius’ takeover of Legend – which has considerable reach in the sports betting affiliate and media space – marks the firm’s latest move to further consolidate and expand its own position in the competitive and fast-changing space.

“This deal accelerates our strategic and financial objectives, supercharges fan monetisation, and builds a fully integrated sports and gaming media network,” Locke remarked.

“For Genius Sports and our global partners, it delivers more data, more audience, more inventory and greater monetisation of sports fans. 

“The acquisition of Legend will drive higher margins and stronger free cash flow, positioning Genius Sports to immediately transform the market and grow the size and scale of our business.”