Unibet acquires stake in Bonza Gaming
Operator will gain a 45% stake in the real-money gambling Facebook operator for nominal fee of £100.
Egaming operator Unibet has announced the acquisition of Channel Islands-based holding company Social Gambling Ltd, the part-owner of real-money Facebook operator Bonza Gaming.
Unibet will pay a nominal price of £100 for the company, providing a £2m loan facility to support the operator’s growth, with £0.5m of the loan expected to be drawn down on completion of the deal.
The holding company Social Gambling (Channel Islands) Ltd (SGCI) is understood to be the stake previously owned by Sportingbet, amounting to a stake of around 50% in Bonza, with Plumbee holding the other majority stake. The acquisition will see Unibet gain an equity interest in Bonza of around 45%.
Bonza, which was formed through a joint venture between Sportingbet and Mirrorball Slots operator Plumbee, became the third operator to launch a real-money gambling offering on Facebook, going live at the start of February with a suite of Net Entertainment Slots. The company operates under a licence from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.
Bonza chief executive Rick Brownlow described the acquisition as allowing his company to having gained “a very strong and well-respected industry partner.”
“From the first conversations we had with them, it was clear that they really understood and supported our vision. With the support of Plumbee and Unibet, and with the talented team at Bonza Gaming, I am very confident that we will become a leading company in the new and fast-growing social gambling category,” Brownlow explained.
Plumbee CEO Raf Keustermans commented that he was “delighted” Unibet had agreed to become a partner in Bonza, saying that the deal marked the company as “one of the most forward-thinking operators in the egaming industry.”
“I’m really looking forward to working with them on the board of Bonza Gaming,” he added.