Bonnier to acquire Redbet Gaming
Agreement - subject to LGA approval - also covers Whitebet, HeyPoker and Total Poker
Malta-licensed operator Bonnier Gaming has reached an agreement to acquire Nordic Leisure’s Redbet Gaming subsidiary, comprising four egaming brands.
If the agreement secures is approved by the Maltese Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) Bonnier will take over the Redbet, Whitebet, HeyPoker and Total Poker brands. Nordic Leisure will receive an initial consideration of SEK37.5m plus an additional sum, to be paid in Q1 2014, based on a multiple of 4.6 of the company’s full-year EBITDA for 2013.
Nordic Leisure, which was rebranded from Redbet Holding in September last year, is expected to retain the Eastern Europe-facing OptiBet and Boss Media-powered Gold Club Casino.
“Redbet has long been going strong in the Nordic market. We hope that together, as part of Bonnier Gaming, we can develop Redbet to even greater heights,” said Bonnier Gaming CEO Markus Forsell. In December 2011 Bonnier became one of the first operators to be licensed in Denmark.
Nordic Leisure, which is headquartered in Latvia, said in a statement that the move is “a step in the Group’s strategy to focus on Eastern European markets”.
Chief executive Claes Hallén said that the sale “sets the stage for full focus on Eastern Europe in accordance with the action plan [the company is] working on”. Following this month’s first-quarter results, the chief executive pledged to turn the operator’s attentions away from its poker business and towards the casino arm which contributed more than half of Q1 revenues.
Nordic Leisure returned to profit in FY 2012, while the 12-month period saw group revenues surpass SEK100m.