Score Media Stock Soars in Nasdaq Debut After Boosting IPO Size

Posted on: February 25, 2021, 09:01h. 

Last updated on: February 25, 2021, 01:19h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Score Media & Gaming (NASDAQ:SCR) stock is surging in its first day on a major US exchange after the company increased the size of its initial public offering (IPO).

Score Stock
The Nasdaq market site in New York, pictured above. Score stock makes its debut there today. (Image: Forbes)

In midday trading, shares of the Canadian sportsbook operator and sports media firm are higher by more than eight percent. Late Wednesday, the company priced the IPO at $27 a share for six million shares, well above the five million it originally expected to sell. That results in aggregate gross proceeds of $162 million for the Toronto-based gaming firm.

Underwriters Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Canaccord Genuity, and Macquarie Capital have a 30-day period in which they can purchase another 900,000 shares, up from an initial estimate of 750,000.

“The company currently expects that the net proceeds of the offering will be used to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes, including the continued growth and expansion of theScore Bet’s operations in the United States and Canada, by supporting the multi-jurisdiction deployment and operation of theScore Bet, and user acquisition and retention in jurisdictions where theScore is, or will be, operating,” according to a statement.

Currently, Score Media’s theScore mobile betting app is live in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, and New Jersey. By handle, New Jersey is the top sports wagering market in the US, while the other three states are among the fastest-growing for regulated sports betting.

Score Stock Moves to Big Time

In recent months, Score Media made a series of moves designed to shed its over-the-counter status in the US in favor of a listing on a major bourse.

Last September, the shares moved from the Toronto Venture Exchange to the more traditional Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Earlier this month, the company executed a reverse split, designed to inflate the stock price in hopes of procuring a Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange listing.

While several well-known gaming and sports betting operators based outside the US list shares over-the-counter here, Score Media’s pursuit of a listing on a marquee domestic equity bourse is smart, because it significantly broadens the institutional audience for the equity. Many fund managers cannot purchase stocks that aren’t trading on Nasdaq or the NYSE.

Score Wracking Up Wins

The US IPO for Score stock comes just days after the company entered Iowa, and after its home country approved single-game sports wagering.

For the company and investors alike, Canada modernizing its sports betting system is compelling, because theScore enjoys robust market share there. Additionally, estimates indicate that if Canada was a US state, it could eventually rival the likes of Nevada and perhaps New Jersey in terms of sports betting handle.

The operator is aiming to eventually be live in 11 US states, thanks to its relationship with Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN). Penn is a winner in the Score stock IPO as well, because it owns 4.7 percent of the Canadian company.