Betsson, a Swedish holding company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Large Cap (BETS) investing in and managing online gaming companies, acquired the business to consumer (B2C) operations of Gaming Innovation Group (GiG), for approximately €31m.
Following the deal*, the brands of GIG, which include Guts, Kaboo, Rizk and Thrills will be owned by Betsson. The brands operate under licenses held in Germany, UK, Malta, and Sweden countries that take different stands on gambling and casinos, whether online platforms – netticasino – or land-based ones. Only the Rizk brand will soon be launched under licenses held in Spain and Croatia.
Through the acquisition, Betsson is buying a GiG’s subsidiary called Zecure Gaming Limited, where the assets, operations, technology, business activities, and gaming licenses attributable to the B2C operations for providing online gambling through the above brands will be moved to. Betsson will continue to consolidate its position in key markets and launch with different brands in Spain and Croatia. In addition, they will integrate its own proprietary sportsbook and payment platforms with the GiG platform, which will enable it to offer its technologies to potential B2B clients of GiG.
Led by Pontus Lindwall, CEO, Betsson offers online casino, proprietary sportsbook and other online games in a multi-brand strategy via gaming licences in twelve countries in Europe and Central Asia. The company plans to continue to expand organically and through acquisitions. The deal – conditional upon customary regulatory approvals and whose completion is expected in mid-April 2020 – was financed through Betsson’s revolving credit facility.
Founded in 2012 and led by Richard Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Gaming Innovation Group is a technology company providing solutions, products and services throughout the entire value chain in the iGaming industry. It operates out of Malta and is dual-listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker symbol GIG) and on Nasdaq Stockholm (ticker symbol GIGSEK).
* The Deal
The initial consideration of the acquisition is €22.3m. As part of it, Betsson has entered into a platform service agreement with GiG for a minimum of 30 months to host the acquired brands on the GiG B2B platform and will pay a fee based on revenues under the deal. During the first 24 months, the platform fee will include a premium fee estimated to €15m (of which €8.7m will be pre-paid at completion). The revenue of the acquired business in 2019 was €77m, and EBIT was €7.6m.