Playmaker Capital is one to watch, says Echelon

Echelon Capital Markets analyst Rob Goff believes Playmaker Capital (Playmaker Capital Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials TSXV:PMKR) may be ready to make some magic, putting the company on his Watchlist in an update to clients on Thursday.

Originally a partnership with Relay Ventures, Toronto-based Playmaker Capital is a sports media company focused on acquiring digital sports media assets. Goff’s analysis comes after Playmaker completed the acquisition of Futmarketing, a Brazilian digital media and marketing group that also provides consultancy to soccer platforms throughout Latin America.

“We believe that bringing Futmarketing’s capabilities in-house, which included supplying content and marketing reach to BolaVIP, represents a significant de-risking for Playmaker, while the Company’s platform strength in Brazil, particularly, brings strong revenue leverage for Futmarketing,” Goff said. “Additionally, the timing of Playmaker stockpiling Brazilian assets ahead of Q422’s World Cup, as well as the ramp of legalized sports betting in Brazil, figures to accelerate the Company’s stranglehold in the region.”

The deal, which was completed on December 27, could be worth as much as $4.1 million (all figures in US dollars), paid out as $845,000 in cash upfront, deferred payments of approximately $155,000, $500,000 in Playmaker shares at $0.70/share, and an earnout worth as much as $2.6 million depending upon Futmarketing achieving certain performance-related targets over the course of 30 months beginning December 1.

Futmarketing brings a significant following beneath the Playmaker umbrella, featuring an aggregate of 31 million followers across 82 Facebook fan pages, 22 Facebook groups, 16 Instagram accounts, and a Twitter account. The company also has a partner network of 210 affiliated social media accounts that reach an additional 32 million followers, which Goff notes will significantly expand and strengthen Futbol Sites’ platform in the region.

The Futmarketing acqusition is the latest move made by Playmaker Capital in the name of establishing its presence within Brazil, having previously acquired Futbol Sites in April, Fanáticos Por Futebol in June and Grupo SuperPoker in November.

“We are delighted to welcome Futmarketing and its outstanding team to the Playmaker and Futbol Sites family,” said Federico Grinberg, CEO of Playmaker brand Futbol Sites, which will manage Futmarketing’s day-to-day operations, in the company’s January 6 press release. “Futmarketing guarantees us high-quality standards in terms of editorial production and social media management, as well as an incremental reach that will further strengthen our position as the largest digital sports media group in terms of audience in Latin America.”

With the upcoming World Cup in clear focus, Goff projects Playmaker will take a step forward in 2022, jumping from a projected $16.5 million in 2021 to $26.2 million in 2022, a potential year-over-year increase of 58.8 per cent. Goff’s 2022 EV/Revenue multiple is 3.9x, which he compares to Playmaker’s peer group average at 2.8x.

Goff expects the company’s EBITDA to rise to $9.7 million in 2022, though it comes with a reduced margin of 37 per cent compared to the 39 per cent projection for 2021. The EV/EBITDA multiple shows nicely for Playmaker, with Goff’s projection of a 11.9x multiple coming in significantly ahead of the peer group average of 50.6x, and ahead of the consensus expectation of a 19.3x multiple.

Since it began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in June, Playmaker’s stock price has risen by 28.3 per cent, culminating in a 52-week high of $0.89/share on November 15.