Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

All bets off as Racing Post-owner’s sale falls at last hurdle

All bets off as Racing Post-owner’s sale falls at last hurdle

A takeover of Spotlight Sports by Better Collective is now a remote prospect as a financing freeze puts many corporate deals on ice.
A takeover of the company which publishes the Racing Post is on the brink of collapse amid increasingly tough conditions for financing takeover deals.

Sky News has learnt that Better Collective, which is based in Denmark but listed in Stockholm, is now unlikely to proceed with a deal after months of talks.

The deal, which would have valued Spotlight Sports at between £300m and £400m, is understood to have been dependent upon financing from a number of lenders including Morgan Stanley, which has also been advising Better Collective.

Gambling industry sources said that financing had proved hard to obtain, adding that the prospects of a deal now looked remote.

This week, a long-running process to buy Playtech, the gambling software group, collapsed after its suitor withdrew, citing the difficult market environment.

Numerous deals spanning other industries, including the sale of Boots the chemist, have also fallen apart in recent weeks as banks reduce their appetite to take on risk.

Sky News revealed last year that Spotlight Sports was being put up for sale, with PJT Partners hired to handle the auction.

The process was launched amid booming interest in sports betting data from US-based gambling and media companies.

Spotlight has been owned by Exponent Private Equity since it acquired the horseracing bible in 2016.

The Racing Post is the best-known of Spotlight's brands, having been launched in 1986 as a rival to the venerable Sporting Life title and passing through the hands of a succession of owners since.

Among those to have owned the newspaper are Trinity Mirror, the owner of the Daily Mirror, which now trades under the name Reach.

The ownership of the Racing Post name is held in perpetuity by its founder, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai, one of the world's most prominent racehorse owners.

The newspaper also became caught up in the banking crisis of 2008, when part of its debt ended up in the hands of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, following the collapse of Anglo Irish, one of the country's biggest lenders.

Under Exponent's ownership, the Racing Post has expanded into a broader sports data and services group, known as Spotlight, which encompasses the Free Super Tips website, a US-focused betting insight platform called Pickswise and MyRacing, another tips site.

Alan Byrne, Spotlight's chief executive, has been involved with the Racing Post since 1993, when he began editing the paper.

He remains its editor-in-chief alongside his responsibilities running the company.

Exponent declined to comment on Friday.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×