MTG signs agreement to sell Bet24
Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) (‘MTG’ or ‘the Group’), the international entertainment broadcasting group, today announced that its Nordic Betting Ltd subsidiary has signed an agreement with Unibet Group plc (‘Unibet) to sell its Bet24 operations to Unibet for a total cash consideration of approximately EUR 13.5 million. Bet24 is active in the online gaming market in Northern Europe and offers a wide range of sports betting and gaming products and services through various web sites including www.bet24.dk and www.bet24.com.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2012.
Unibet has confirmed that it intends to integrate the Bet24 business into its existing operations by re-branding Bet24’s products and services and migrating Bet24’s customers to its own platform. According to the terms of the agreement, Unibet will transfer approximately 45 Nordic Betting Ltd employees to its operations in Malta.
Nordic Betting Ltd reported gross winnings of approximately EUR 10.5 million for the full year 2011.
Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “The sale of Bet24 is in line with our focus on our core broadcasting operations. We have developed and expanded our online betting and gaming businesses over the past seven years as the industry has become more and more competitive. Unibet is one of the largest and most established players in the European market and therefore provides an attractive platform for Bet24 customers and for the further development of the business.”
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For further information, please visit www.mtg.se or contact:
Hans-Holger Albrecht, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +46 (0) 8 562 000 50
Matthew Hooper, Head of Corporate Communications & Planning
Tel: +44 (0) 7768 440 414
Email: investor.relations@mtg.se / press@mtg.se
Modern Times Group (MTG) is an international entertainment broadcasting group with operations that span four continents and include free-TV, pay-TV, radio and content production businesses. MTG’s Viasat Broadcasting operates free-TV and pay-TV channels, which are available on Viasat’s own satellite platforms and third party networks, and also distributes TV content over the internet. MTG is also the largest shareholder in CTC Media, which is Russia’s leading independent television broadcaster.
Modern Times Group is a growth company and generated record net sales of SEK 13.5 billion in 2011. MTG’s Class A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm’s Large Cap index under the symbols ‘MTGA’ and ‘MTGB’.
The information in this announcement is that which Modern Times Group MTG AB is required to disclose under the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. It was released for publication at 08:00 CET on 11 April 2012.