ONLINE NEWS
NYX shareholders back Scientific Games takeover
S
cientific Games is set to complete its acquisition of NYX Gaming early next month after
the deal was unanimously backed by the latter’s shareholders. The
CAD$775 (€528.3m/US$630m) takeover was announced in September, with Scientific completing a purchase of 10% of NYX’s shares towards the end of 2017. NYX needed the support of at least 75% of its shareholders for the deal to push through. NYX must now present the tally of the shareholders votes and get the approval of the Royal Court of Guernsey, which i s due to have taken place in early January. “We are thrilled by the strong support
from NYX shareholders and we are very excited about our combined companies’ future growth potential,” said Scientific Games chief executive and president Kevin Sheehan. “By bringing together Scientific Games and NYX, we will create a world leader in digital gaming and sports betting, a company with an unrivalled, end-to-end product portfolio and an innovative driving force in the industry.” When the definitive agreement was confirmed in September it was announced that the transaction would be financed with both cash on hand and debt. “The acquisition will be a win-win
for both companies and our collective shareholders,” said NYX chief executive Matt Davey. “By joining Scientific Games, we will become part of a company with unmatched global reach, resources and industry leading content. The leaders of both NYX and Scientific Games are committed to delivering significant value for our customers across the full spectrum of digital gaming.”
Digitain agrees Habanero deal
M
ulti-channel sports betting and casino platform provider Digitain is set to integrate content from leading online slots and table game supplier Habanero. Among the games made available to their
operator partners via the deal will be Habanero’s latest release 5 Mariachis, as well as a popular titles Rolling Roger, The Dead Escape, and Panda Panda. The integration adds some extra muscle to the Armenian supplier’s casino
platform, as it continues to expand in international markets, and brings a new premium range to its existing portfolio. Suren Khachatryan, Digitain CEO, said: “We have been working hard to
forge fresh casino alliances recently and are aiming to arm ourselves with the prized products from the best suppliers in the business. Like us, Habanero have been very successful in their expansion during 2017 and together we present a compelling platform and content solution to operators. We’re very pleased to have them on board.” Daniel Long, Head of Sales at Habanero, said: “We can’t wait to see how our games perform in what in many cases are new markets for us. We have launched some fantastic content over the last 12 months, with a wide variety of themes, features, and maths models, and we hope they’ll quickly become firm favourites with operators and players alike.”
T
Tabcorp linked to UK National Lottery bid
abcorp has targeted the UK National Lottery licence and US sports betting following the completion of its
Aus$11bn (€7.08bn/US$8.33bn) merger with Tatts. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Tabcorp chief executive David Attenborough said: “there are opportunities to grow” with reference to the 2019 National Lottery licence renewal decision and the US Supreme Court ruling on the future of sports betting, which is expected in June. However, Attenborough insisted that the No.1 priority is the mammoth task of integrating the two companies, their businesses, technology, and thousands of employees across wagering, lotteries and gaming services divisions. “These are complex transactions,” he said, “Bringing two
92 JANUARY 2018 the merger. Eight of the 11-person executive
leadership team will come from Tabcorp, including Attenborough, chief financial officer Damien Johnston and the managing director of wagering and media, Adam Rytenskild. The three Tatts executives to be appointed to leadership positions with Tabcorp are the managing director of lotteries and Keno, Sue van der Merwe; the managing director of gaming services, Frank Makryllos; and chief information officer Mandy Ross. However, Tabcorp chief
information officer Kim Wenn has decided to depart after 14 years in the job.
large businesses together with a lot of history.” Meanwhile, Tabcorp has confirmed its new executive team following
Cherry raises stake in Game Lounge
C
herry has upped its stake in Game Lounge almost three years after it became the
majority shareholder of the affiliate operator. The gaming group bought 51% of shares in Game Lounge in January 2015 and has announced plans to purchase another 44% through a combination of cash and a new issue of shares. The remaining 5% of shares will be held by the founders of Game Lounge, Jonas Cederholm and Fredrik Langeland, who will also stay on as the company’s chief executive and head of sales, respectively. Game Lounge recorded a 180%
year-on-year revenue increase in Q3 2017, with EBITDA margin at 75%, figures which were influential in Cherry’s decision. Anders Holmgren, chief executive of Cherry, said: “Game Lounge holds a strong position in a growing market. Game Lounge’s business model is remarkably scalable, the company has unique capabilities in search-engine optimisation and is the recognised standard in affiliation within the gaming industry and we see great potential to expand the scope of the business to also include other segments, such as the loan affiliate website
Lainat.fi, acquired by Game Lounge in November.” Cherry said the purchase price is based on a multiple of 4.5 times the 2017 profit of the affiliate operation and six times the 2017 profit of the white label operation. The transaction is expected to be completed around May 2018.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110
