Unibet acquires iGame Holdings

Under the agreement, the current iGame management team, headed up by chief executive Tommi Maijala, will remain with the company and are subject to retention agreements to deliver the business plan over the next three years. Earn-out payments may be payable based on iGame’s results for the period up to June 30, 2016.

The transaction, due to be completed towards the end of the third quarter, is worth an initial price of $64.5 million in cash on completion.

“While Unibet is larger than iGame, we share the same passion for serving our customers and improving the operations every day. Through this deal our customers will quickly see the benefits from our ability to improve the product offering. Our ability to accelerate the growth and development of the business will also provide new opportunities for our great team,” Maijala said.

Henrik Tjärnström, chief executive of Unibet, added: “iGame brands are well known in their local markets and we see a lot of potential by combining our bigger scale, mobile, cross channel and product expertise with their local focus. As the majority of the iGame revenues come from casino, our joint plan is to keep a number of these brands as a complement to our existing brands, Unibet and Maria.”

The acquisition comes after Unibet this week unveiled record revenue figures for the three months through to June 30. Gross revenue amounted to £80.5 million in the second quarter, up from £75.6 million in the same period last year, while revenue for the six-month period up to June 30 totalled £156.6 million.

Speaking at the time of the results announcement, Tjärnström said: “The success of the marketing investments made in previous quarters, has also driven organic growth of more than 21% in gross winnings revenue in constant currencies, despite tough comparables from the successful World Cup in 2014.”