Launches and sign-ups 20 May 2015
Launches and sign-ups from the egaming industry in the last seven days (14 May to 20 May 2015)
888 joins £1bn race to acquire bwin.party
Operator confirms bid to acquire bwin.party in a deal worth an estimated £1bn
888 has confirmed it has joined the race to acquire bwin.party after tabling a bid to acquire the entire share capital of the operator.
In an RNS statement released Monday, 888 confirmed weekend UK press reports that it had made an offer to acquire bwin.party in a deal estimated to be worth more than £1bn.
“The Board believes that there is significant industrial logic in a combination of 888 and bwin.party, benefiting both companies and all shareholders and accordingly, has submitted a proposal regarding the acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of bwin.party for consideration comprising cash and 888 shares,” 888 said in an RNS statement.
The proposed cash and shares deal would require the approval of 888 shareholders, of which the firm said it had already garnered the support of 59%.
GVC confirms Amaya joint-bid for bwin.party
GVC this week issued a statement clarifying that its bid to acquire bwin.party in its entirety will be funded in part by PokerStars’ owner Amaya Gaming.
The operator said it was responding to media speculation yesterday that it had joined forces with Amaya to table a second €1.5bn offer to acquire the firm.
But GVC confirmed that it had made just the one offer for bwin.party, and that the offer would be jointly financed with Amaya.
Seven days in launches and sign-ups:
Sporting Index sale given regulatory go ahead
Swedish gaming entrepreneur Magnus Hedman has completed the £40m acquisition of spread betting firm Sporting Index and its B2B subsidiary Sporting Solutions from private equity firm HgCapital.
The deal, first announced in March, has received regulatory approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority and completes Hedman’s second major acquisition in the space of nine months.
The acquisition was backed by Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance which provided financial assistance through a mix of senior and mezzanine debt, and now a significant stake in the firm.
Ladbrokes strikes Scottish football sponsorship deal
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has announced Ladbrokes will become its new title sponsor as part of a two-year deal which kicks off in time for the 2015-16 season.
The league competition has been without a headline sponsor for the last two seasons but Ladbrokes has obtained the naming rights for the Scottish Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2.
The sponsorship deal is for an undisclosed figure but Ladbrokes’ new chief executive Jim Mullen described it as one of the “best opportunities in British sport” for the firm.
Playtech in for currency trading platform, reports claim
Playtech is in talks to acquire currency trading platform AvaTrade in a deal worth US$100m (£64m), according to press reports which also suggest the supplier’s foray into non-gaming markets won’t end there.
Several news sources including Reuters have reported that a deal between Playtech and AvaTrade is close to being agreed, however neither party has confirmed the talks.
Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist reported that the Dublin-headquartered AvaTrade posted an annual operating profit of $20m in 2014.
Stride AIM float raises £11.2m
Bingo-led operator Stride Gaming announced that dealings of its ordinary shares began this week on London’s Alternative Investment Market, with the company having raised an above-estimate £11.2m from its initial offering.
A placing price of 132p per ordinary share gave Stride a market capitalisation of £66.2m at launch, with a little over 50m shares issued. Cantor Fitzgerald Europe acted as nominated adviser and broker on the listing.
“Our Admission to AIM will expedite the company’s organic and acquisitive growth strategy and provide it with a fantastic platform to grab significant market share as a result of increased regulation,” Eitan Boyd, Stride’s CEO, said.