Mr Green acquires Redbet operator Evoke Gaming
€7m deal to aid further global expansion for the operator by boosting brand portfolio
Mr Green has acquired Redbet operator Evoke Gaming as part of its strategy to expand globally and operate multiple brands.
The Swedish operator purchased the casino and sportsbook firm for €7m, with a contingent consideration of €1.5m. The deal includes a number of Evoke operated gaming sites, including Redbet, Vinnarum casino and bingo brand, Bertil.
Mr Green CEO Per Norman said: “We are pursuing our strategy of nurturing a small number of strong brands that can work globally.”
“With Redbet and Mr Green we have two immensely strong brands addressing different segments and we see major potential to expand Redbet into our existing markets.”
The firm believes the deal will have a marginally negative impact on its overall cash flow for 2018, but Norman says it will contribute positively to EBITDA in 2019 and expects to achieve synergies of €2.5m to €3.5m per year by 2019.
In a statement, Mr Green said the brands showed potential for major growth across the UK and Nordics, although Evoke Gaming recorded revenues of €7.4m in the first nine months of 2017, with an EBITDA margin of -€4.4m.
The firm has 82 employees based in Malta.
However, in an analyst note, Regulus Partners questioned the brand strength of Evoke’s subsidiaries: “While Mr Green has made some brand headway, we would question the brand strength of any operator that generates only €16m across several significant markets and sites (c. 0.2% aggregated market share), especially given that the scale of losses suggests material marketing support.
“Equally, while gaming has proved receptive to small businesses becoming mid-sized through strong operations management, this has proved far more elusive in betting.”