Unibet Group acquires the iGame Group
Unibet Group plc has today signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of iGame Holding plc and its subsidiaries. The iGame Group is a specialist gambling operator with focus in the Nordics and Central Europe offering online casino, poker and sports betting through seven local brands.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in the second half of the third quarter 2015.
The transaction will increase Unibet’s market share in strategic Nordic markets ahead of re-regulation that is expected to develop in the coming years. The initial price of EUR 59 million is payable fully in cash on completion. In the six month period to 30 June 2015, the GWR of iGame was EUR 13.7 million and the EBITDA was EUR 4.7 million. For the second quarter of 2015, the number of quarterly active customers amounted to 75,000.
Earn-out payments may be payable based on iGame’s results for the period up to 30 June 2016. The earn-out payment is calculated on a multiple of 6.2 times EBITDA up to a cap of EUR 20 million including an element for over-performance.
The current management team of iGame, under the leadership of CEO Tommi Maijala, will remain with the business and are subject to retention arrangements to deliver the business plan during the next three years. In total, iGame has approximately 130 employees, the majority of whom are based in Malta.
The combined group expects to achieve synergies from the transaction, including a wider product portfolio, effective marketing, economies of scale associated with third-party procurement of products and media.
“The iGame brands are well known in their local markets and we see a lot of potential by combining our bigger scale, mobile, cross channel and product expertise with their local focus. As the majority of the iGame revenues comes from Casino, our joint plan is to keep a number of these brands as a complement to our existing brands, Unibet and Maria.” says Henrik Tjärnström, CEO Unibet.
Tommi Maijala, CEO of iGame says, “We are very happy to be joining the Unibet Group. While Unibet is larger than iGame, we share the same passion for serving our customers and improving the operations every day. I have great comfort and trust in the long-term strategy of Unibet and highly respect all the valuable work Unibet has done for the gaming industry. Through this deal our customers will quickly see the benefits from our ability to improve the product offering. Our ability to accelerate the growth and development of the business will also provide new opportunities for our great team”
For more information:
Henrik Tjärnström, CEO Unibet +44 7515 975 629
Inga Lundberg, Investor Relations +44 788 799 6116
About Unibet
Unibet was founded in 1997 and is an online gambling company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. Unibet is one of the largest listed gambling operators in the European market and provides services in 21 languages through www.unibet.com, www.unibet.dk, www.unibet.fr, www.unibet.it, www.unibet.be, www.unibet.ee, www.unibet.com.au, www.unibet.co.uk www.maria.com, www.mariacasino.ee, www.mariacasino.dk and www.mariacasino.co.uk. Unibet has over 10.3 million customers in over 100 countries. Unibet is a member of the EGBA, European Gaming and Betting Association, RGA, Remote Gambling Association in the UK and is audited and certified by eCOGRA in relation to responsible and fair gaming.
More information about Unibet Group plc can be found on www.unibetgroupplc.com and twitter.com/UnibetGroup
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