The PA Agrees to Buy Racing and Sports Owner RAS Technology for A$49.8m at a 93% Premium

The UK group behind the Press Association will pay A$1.04 a share in cash for the ASX-listed racing data supplier and fold it into its Podium business. The PA's own release left the price out; RAS's filing shows the bid nearly doubles what the market thought the company was worth.

• The Press Association Limited, part of the UK group now called The PA, has agreed to buy RAS Technology Holdings, owner of Racing and Sports, for A$1.04 a share in cash through a scheme of arrangement, according to RAS's ASX announcement of 19 October
• The price values RAS's equity at about A$49.8 million, approximately $34.7 million, and its enterprise value at about A$45.6 million, a 93% premium to the last close of A$0.54 and 80% above the 90-day average
• RAS's board unanimously recommends the scheme, subject to an independent expert, and co-founders Gary Crispe and Robert Vilkaitis, who hold or control about 34.0%, intend to vote for it; implementation is expected in February 2027
• Racing and Sports is to be combined with Podium, The PA's racing and sports data arm, taking the UK group into Australian wagering, where RAS supplies Tabcorp, Entain and Sportsbet
• It follows Tabcorp's agreement to buy BetMakers in August, another ASX-listed racing technology supplier

The PA Pays Nearly Double RAS's Market Value for Racing and Sports

The Press Association Limited, the UK and Ireland's national news agency, has signed a binding scheme implementation deed to acquire all of RAS Technology Holdings (ASX: RTH), according to RAS's announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange on 19 October. Its parent, PA Media Group Limited, which renamed itself The PA on 13 October, guarantees the payment. RAS shareholders would receive A$1.04 in cash a share, approximately $0.72, less any permitted dividend or return of capital.

The PA's release and the first trade reports gave no price; RAS's filing does. On 47,885,899 shares, the consideration implies an equity value of about A$49.8 million, approximately $34.7 million, and an enterprise value of about A$45.6 million, approximately $31.7 million, after A$4.2 million of net cash. RAS has no borrowings.

The price is a 93% premium to RAS's close of A$0.54 on 16 October and 80% above the 90-trading-day volume weighted average of A$0.576. At that close the company was worth about A$25.9 million on our calculation. RAS shares last traded at A$1.00 on Monday, up 85.2%, according to ASX market data, about 4% below the offer.

Founders Hold 34% and the Break Fee Runs One Way

The RAS board unanimously recommends the scheme, absent a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert finding it in shareholders' best interests. Co-founders Gary Crispe, an executive director, and Robert Vilkaitis, the chief innovation officer, hold or control 16,269,357 shares, about 34.0%, and intend to vote in favour on the same terms.

The scheme needs shareholder approval under the Corporations Act and the approval of the Federal Court of Australia. It carries no due diligence, financing, Foreign Investment Review Board or competition regulator condition, according to RAS, and The PA expects to fund it from cash and committed debt.

The deed carries no-shop and no-talk restrictions and a matching right for The PA. RAS would owe a break fee of 1% of the equity value, about A$0.5 million, approximately $350,000, in specified circumstances, including if a rival deal announced during exclusivity completes within 12 months of the end date. The deed sets no reciprocal fee payable by The PA. The parties signed a confidentiality agreement on 19 September, according to the deed. A scheme booklet with the expert's report is expected in early December, the scheme meeting in late January 2027 and implementation in February 2027.

What Racing and Sports Brings to Podium

Racing and Sports was founded in 1999 and listed in 2021. It sells racing data, analytics, wagering technology and racing media, and names among its clients Entain, Flutter's Sportsbet, Tabcorp, bet365, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Racing Victoria. A four-year Tabcorp agreement worth A$9.1 million plus indexation started on 1 July, according to Kalkine Media.

In the year to 30 June, revenue rose 33.7% to A$28.4 million, approximately $19.8 million, and normalised EBITDA 3% to A$3.0 million, according to RAS's results as reported by Kalkine Media and ShareCafe. It made a normalised net loss of A$0.3 million, against an A$1.1 million profit a year earlier, which chief executive Stephen Crispe put down to investment in trading and Asian operations; the statutory loss was A$957,000. Annualised recurring revenue was A$23.5 million, up 8% on the year but below the A$24.6 million reported at the half.

Podium is the former PA Betting Services, renamed in November 2024 after the 2023 purchase of iRace Media. It supplies horse and greyhound racing data to customers including Flutter, Entain, Evoke and bet365, from offices in the UK and Singapore. The PA says Podium's sports API, combined with RAS's trading services and Wagering 360 platform, will give media, bookmakers and rightsholders a "complete solution". The two will run separately until completion.

The Premium Prices Growth the Market Would Not Pay For

On our calculation the deal values RAS at about 1.6 times FY2026 revenue and about 15 times normalised EBITDA. That is a full price for a business whose profits went backwards while revenue climbed by a third; the market had valued RAS at less than a year's revenue. The 4% gap between the share price and the offer reflects the wait until February as well as completion risk. With 34.0% of the shares committed, a blocking vote would be hard to assemble, and the matching right and break fee make a rival bid harder.

Podium Is Buying a Position in Australia, Not Just Data

Podium's roots are in British racing, and Flutter, Entain and bet365 are named as customers by both businesses. What RAS adds is the Australian and Asian end: Tabcorp, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Racing Victoria and a trading service. Australian racing technology is consolidating: Tabcorp is buying BetMakers, which co-developed Podium's AdVantage racebook, and The PA is buying RAS. Control of sports data is already contested elsewhere, as Altenar's complaints against Sportradar show. The absence of a competition condition suggests the parties see little overlap in Australia, which is the point: Podium is buying a position it does not have.

A UK news agency is paying close to double the market price for an Australian racing data business that has not yet turned growth into profit. The independent expert's report in December will show whether A$1.04 is generous or simply the price at which RAS's founders were ready to sell.