GAMING FOR AFRICA
Gaming For Africa Betfred Buys Phumelela’s Betting World
Casino International’s Africa partner is the excellent Gaming For Africa magazine, bringing you the continent’s latest developments
Betfred has secured a foothold in the South African betting market, purchasing Betting World (
bettingworld.co.za) from Phumelela, conducted via the newly established Betfred South Africa brand. Reportedly carried out at a purchasing price of R120 million (£6.1 million), subject to final adjustment relating to the net capital of working items, the transaction was considered officially concluded as of 31 May. The purchase of Phumelela’s online betting vertical
is reported to have been disclosed by Phumelela business rescue practitioner John Evans, leading the bankruptcy arrangements of the heritage South African racetrack operator. Last summer, a distressed Phumelela Gaming and
Leisure suspended its trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) as the company filed for South African bankruptcy protection. Fred Dorne’s Betfred initially expressed interest in the financially troubled firm after the Johannesburg High Court placed its assets under bankruptcy protection, prompting the
company to request additional investors in order to avoid outright liquidation. Agreeing on a business rescue plan arrangement, Phumelela was subsequently forced to place its South African racetracks for sale by creditors. Betfred’s original intent was to acquire all
Phumelela racetrack properties for R875-to-925 million (€44-46m) in a bid that saw the Manchester bookmaker compete against a fund owned by racing enthusiast Mary Oppenheimer-Slack and her daughter Jessica Jell –members of South Africa’s richest mining family. Despite its significantly larger rescue offer,
Betfred’s bid was refused to be reviewed by auditors, who had agreed to back the Oppenheimer fund as an existing creditor of Phumelela’s business. South African business news sources have
branded Betfred acquisition of World Betting as a transformative deal for South Africa’s sports betting landscape – which to date has been strictly fenced for domestic incumbents. As yet, Betfred has made no official statement on its
acquisition of Phumelela’s World Betting asset, disclosed by rescue practitioners. Apart from its UK operation, Betfred has an online
casino and betting product in Spain and, in its first foray into the US, has launched a sportsbook at Grand Falls Casino. The arrival of Betfred in the SA market may not be
good news for established bookmaking firms such as World Sports Betting and Hollywoodbets because Dorne will probably want to introduce a number of special offers to punters, a common practice in the UK.
New Management Structure for NOVOMATIC Africa
NOVOMATIC aims to excel services, support and product placement in the African markets by implementing a new management structure. NOVOMATIC has been spearheading the South African gaming industry with a long-term footprint and a record of success for more than 20 years. NOVOMATIC products have a substantial track record of leading performance all across Africa and are renowned for their outstanding design, immersive game play, premium quality and proven reliability among both the gaming operators and players. On the one hand, the team at the regional NOVOMATIC Africa headquarters located in Johannesburg is delivering first class products and services to gaming operators in both the casino and the Limited-Payout-Machine market segments in South Africa and many other African countries. On the other hand, the Johannesburg team is strategically steering NOVOMATIC’s gaming operations in Namibia and Eswatini. Recent personnel and structural changes in the executive management of the company aim to address challenges in the local business environment as well
18 JUNE 2021
as changing market dynamics and are set to strengthen the customer relationships throughout the region by leveraging the teams’ competences and level of performance. As of June 1, 2021, Sonya Nikolova, Muriel
Loftie-Eaton, and Alexander Merwald will officially resume their roles as Managing Directors of NOVOMATIC Africa: Sonya Nikolova is acting as CEO whilst continuing to lead the sales activities on the African continent. Muriel Loftie-Eaton is acting as CFO, and Alexander Merwald as CIO, while continuing his role as Head of NOVOMATIC Group Mergers and Acquisitions. NOVOMATIC would like to extend its gratitude to the former executives Gary Chapple and Gordon Cameron for their integrity and long-lasting contribution to the outstanding success story of the company in the South African region. Sonya Nikolova joined NOVOMATIC AG in 2016 in a senior position at the Global Sales department. Her professional background in Industrial Engineering and Management as well as vast expertise in senior executive positions within the gaming sector add great value to the business
operations and management team of the NOVOMATIC Africa Group and a guarantee of professional, timely and effective support to all partners and NOVOMATIC customers in the region. Muriel Loftie-Eaton is a qualified chartered
accountant and has been involved with NOVOMATIC since 2017. Her involvement commenced as a business partner and consultant with her formally joining the board of Directors of NOVOMATIC Africa in 2020. Muriel has had a long-standing career in the gaming industry having previously been employed by Tsogo Group’s parent company HCI for almost 10 years in various executive capacities. Alexander Merwald has been with NOVOMATIC AG
since 2012, when he was put in charge of the Group’s M&A department. He has a degree in finance and before joining NOVOMATIC has had a successful career in corporate finance advisory. Alexander Merwald will add significant value in regard to the expansion plans of NOVOMATIC Africa in the operational gaming segment of its business in the region.
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
