Press Association group to buy ASX-listed Racing and Sports owner

The PA, the company behind the UK's Press Association news agency, has agreed terms to buy RAS Technology Holdings, the ASX-listed parent of racing data and wagering technology provider Racing and Sports, iGaming Business reported.

The all-cash transaction values RAS at roughly AU$49.8 million, around £26 million, with the PA offering AU$1.04 for every share.

That price represents a 93% premium on RAS's closing level of AU$0.54 on 16 October, and an 80% premium to the stock's 90-day volume-weighted average of AU$0.576, according to figures cited by Grafa.

RAS shares surged by about 85% to AU$1.00 once the takeover was made public, Stockhead reported, though the offer still sits well under the AU$1.50 price at which the company listed on the ASX in November 2021.

Structured as a scheme of arrangement under a binding Scheme Implementation Deed, the transaction would hand the PA every share in RAS. Both sides are targeting completion by February 2027, contingent on shareholder approval and sign-off from Australia's Federal Court.

RAS directors have backed the scheme unanimously, provided no rival bidder emerges and an independent expert does not advise otherwise. Company co-founders Gary Crispe and Robert Vilkaitis, who between them hold or control close to 34% of the register, have signalled they will vote their stakes in favour.

The deed also carries exclusivity terms and a right for the PA to match any competing offer, alongside a break fee of about AU$0.5 million that RAS would owe in defined circumstances.

A scheme booklet containing the independent expert's assessment is expected to reach RAS shareholders in early December, ahead of a court-convened vote pencilled in for late January, Australian media have reported.

Once combined, Racing and Sports would operate next to Podium, the PA's existing racing and sports betting data business. The PA said pairing Podium's sports API with RAS's trading services and its Wagering 360 platform would widen the range of tools available to bookmakers, broadcasters and rightsholders, and would give the group a foothold in the Australian wagering sector.

PA chief executive Emily Shelley said the combined business would give customers "a wider range of data, deep wagering knowledge and coverage across more markets", adding that the firms "share a commitment to trust and integrity" and that their "complementary strengths and global reach will offer customers more of what they value". She said the deal would let the group "develop new products faster".

Podium managing director Josh Sparke said what struck him most was "how naturally the two businesses complement each other".

RAS chief executive Stephen Crispe called the agreement "an important step", saying the PA "deeply shares our commitment to integrity, quality, and the importance of accurate, trusted live data that is needed to power the global racing industry".

The two companies will keep trading independently until the deal closes. Both the PA and RAS have been approached for further comment, according to iGaming Business.