GVC CEO Kenneth Alexander said the group “met all of its key operational objectives’ in 2012, while chairman Lee Feldman said GVC had also reached an amicable settlement in its long-running litigation with Boss Media. Alexander called the acquisition of Sportingbet’s former operations in Denmark and in ‘grey’ markets like Germany and Greece “the most significant deal in the Group’s history,” which laid the foundations for “future transactions.”
In the meantime, GVC has begun the painful process of integrating Sportingbet’s operations into its own. Shortly after the acquisition was finalized, Alexander visited Sportingbet’s London branch to inform staff that the office would be closed by November. GamblingCompliance reported that Alexander informed staff that Sportingbet’s online gambling model was broken, and while some of the 120-odd staffers would be absorbed by GVC, many others would face redundancy. Alexander also visited Sportingbet’s trading and customer support teams in Jersey and Dublin to deliver a slightly more upbeat message, as GVC has identified Sportingbet’s trading platform as an area for potential growth.