Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke defended the company’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Legend, a global digital sports and iGaming media network, addressing market skepticism regarding its valuation. Locke framed the acquisition not as a traditional “affiliate” business but as an infrastructure expansion into the “participation layer” of modern sport, connecting Genius’s official data rights with a massive audience. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted EBITDA margins and free cash flow, with projected combined revenue of $1.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $320 million to $330 million on a 2026 pro forma basis.
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Genius Sports Defends $1.2 Billion Legend Acquisition as "Participation Layer" Strategy
Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke defended the company’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Legend, a global digital sports and iGaming media network, addressing market skepticism regarding its valuation. Locke framed the acquisition not as a traditional “affiliate” business but as an infrastructure expansion into the “participation layer” of modern sport, connecting Genius’s official data rights with a massive audience. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted EBITDA margins and free cash flow, with projected combined revenue of $1.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $320 million to $330 million on a 2026 pro forma basis.