Online betting operator Unibet has made its second major acquisition in as many months after agreeing to buy Malta-licensed iGame Holding Plc.
On Friday, Unibet announced it had agreed to pay €59m in cash upon completion of the deal, which expects to conclude later this quarter. A further earn-out of up to €20m will follow based on iGame’s earnings up to June 30, 2016 with “an element for over-performance.” iGame reported earnings of €4.7m on revenue of €13.7m in the first half of 2015 and has around 75k quarterly active customers.
iGame’s current management, including CEO Tommi Maijala, will remain at the helm and are subject to retention deals for the next three years. iGame has a total staff of around 130, based mostly in Malta. The combined group expects to realize synergies from the union, including economies of scale with third-party procurement of products and media.
iGame says it will act as “an independent arm within the Unibet Group, responsible for the hyper local casino operations through our multiple brands.” Said brands include Leijona Kasino, Hertat, the Scandinavian-facing 24hCasino, the Czech Republic’s Bohemia Casino and the Finnish-facing sites Casinohuone, Pokerihuone, Veikkaushuone and Kolikkopelit,
Unibet CEO Jenrik Tjärnström said because iGame’s brands were predominantly online casinos, the plan was to maintain “a number of” these brands to complement Unibet and its own Maria casino brand.
The deal follows Unibet’s acquisition in July of the online operations of UK betting operator Stan James Group. Unibet’s recent Q2 report showed its traditional reliance on Nordic markets lessening in favor of Western Europea, but the iGame brands’ geographic focus will likely tilt that balance back somewhat.
