Probability acquires Italian-facing mobile specialist
Playyoo, based in Switzerland, is licensed by AAMS to provide mobile games and technology.
Mobile operator Probability has announced the acquisition of Playyoo, a Switzerland-based B2B provider which is licensed to supply mobile games to operators in the Italian market, for an initial consideration of £1.8m.
It will be financed by the issue of 2.4m ordinary shares, with a further issuing of up to 1.7m dependent on Playyoo’s 2013 performance.
The AAMS-certified company offers games including blackjack and slots for a variety of mobile devices, with versions developed for the operating systems of Apple, Android and Samsung smartphones. Its blackjack game has been approved by the Apple App Store in Italy.
Playyoo, which also provides a number of skill games and freeplay social games, including a Texas Hold’em game on Facebook as well as ‘La Scopa’, a card game app launched on the social network in 2010 in partnership with Cogetech brand Iziplay and designed as a viral marketing tool for real-money play.
The company’s real-money egaming clients in Italy, where it offers sports betting technology as well as casino games, include Cogetech, Snai and NeoMobile.
It recorded a loss of CHF184,000 (£127,000) for the financial year ended 31 December, but launched its first gambling game the following month and, according to a statement from Probability, “based upon the strength of contracts already signed, the pipeline of new products and the potential of additional revenues from slots games after December 2012, the Company expects the Acquisition to be earnings accretive in the next full financial year.”
Following the deal, Playyoo founding investor Rocco Pellegrinelli will join the board of Probability as a non-executive director, with the operator’s CEO Charles Cohen noting that: “His insights into the Italian and other European markets will be extremely helpful.”
Probability saw its own flagship Ladyluck’s Casino added to the UK App Store last month, while it began the first stage of Facebook integration earlier in the year.
Cohen had suggested the operator could be set to apply for an Italian licence of its own upon the approval of the country’s slots decree, which has been given the green light by the European Commission, with the product due to go live as soon as December.
He said of the Playyoo deal: “This acquisition gives us immediate access to the Italian gambling market, early revenues, and the opportunity to grow rapidly as the market opens up to slots later this year.
“The Italian gambling market has only recently been fully regulated and there are only a small number of operators live from the first wave of license applications. Playyoo has established an early lead and together we will build on that,” he added.
Analyst Ivor Jones of Numis described the acquisition as “transformational”, saying: “This relatively low-risk acquisition (Playyoo has only six people) shows it really has the ambition to be a leading player.”