A trio of big name mergers and buy-outs have been confirmed this week as the online casino sector’s major players look to maximise their post-Covid recovery.
The first cab off the rank is Evolution, who have completed their purchase of Big Time Gaming as first reported back in April.
The deal has now been signed off, with an agreement to issue a further one million shares on the back of the £450m acquisition.
The necessary regulators have given the green light too, and around £200 million will be paid initially with £80 million in cash and that new share issue covering the rest of the cost.
Big Time Gaming earned €330 million in 2020, and Evolution will be able to benefit from such innovations as Megaways, Megaclusters and Megaquads, with Monopoly Megaways and Millionaire Mystery Box amongst the absolute favourites.
Bally’s and Gamesys Agree ‘Business Combination’
Two hot properties in slots and casino game development are joining forces.
Bally’s and Gamesys have agreed to combine their assets in an informal partnership which has now passed the necessary round of shareholder voting.
The deal will have to pass the required regulatory checks, but once approved will see Bally’s and the Premier Entertainment group acquire the share capital raised by Gamesys.
The merger will go through in the fourth quarter of 2021 if all goes to plan, and Gamesys’ Lee Fenton claimed the partnership would create a ‘unique and differentiated’ platform for players.
“This combination represents a compelling opportunity to integrate Gamesys’ market-leading gaming technology with Bally’s growing U.S. gaming platform to create a vertically integrated company that is poised to capitalize on the rapidly expanding U.S. online sports betting and iGaming market,” he said.
“We believe we will be able to offer customers a unique and differentiated approach to gaming.”
Meanwhile Soo Kim, the chairman of Bally’s board of directors, commented:
“By combining with Gamesys, we will meaningfully accelerate our growth strategy to become a premier, global, omni-channel gaming company, which we believe will create significant long-term shareholder value.”
Kindred Spirits
Finally, the Kindred Group have revealed that they will acquire the full rights to Relax Gaming in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The Scandinavian operator will take full ownership of the software firm, taking their share in the firm’s stock to 100% having acquired around 33% way back in 2013. Their outlay will be a reported €80 million, with Relax earning revenue of around €25 million in the financial year to May 2021.
Relax Gaming will continue as a B2B enterprise, with Kindred taking on their B2C arm in an attempt to enhance the firm’s ‘product differentiation’.
Henrik Tjarnstrom, the chief executive of the Kindred Group, said:
“Through this acquisition we add a rapidly growing and profitable B2B business with a world-class product portfolio, giving us greater control over our casino, poker and bingo offering, putting Kindred in a significantly better position to achieve our long-term strategy to increase our focus on product differentiation and customer experience.”