Endeavor Group Holdings Inc, the owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, will acquire sports betting business OpenBet from Scientific Games Corp. for $1.2 billion in cash and stock, the companies said on Monday. Endeavor, whose shares were up nearly 10 percent in extended trading, said the acquisition will strengthen its position in the sports betting industry. The company said it plans to combine OpenBet, a sportsbook and gaming software, with its existing sports betting business IMG ARENA. The deal comes at a time when the online gambling space has been witnessing frenetic dealmaking as more states in the United States are expected to legalize the industry. Last week, British gambling firm Entain said it had received a takeover proposal from U.S. fantasy sports betting company DraftKings, valuing it at $22.4 billion. Demand for online betting has boomed during the pandemic as customers took to playing from home when casinos and …