Nasdaq-Traded LeoVegas Acquisition of Royal Panda Seen as Industry Plus
News that Swedish online gambling firm LeoVegas (trading on Nordic Nasdaq) has acquired Royal Panda is expected to cause a seismic shift in the world of i-Gaming. Royal Panda is licensed in the UK. LeoVegas ranks among the top-ranked online casino operators, according to LiveCasino.com.
The deal has LeoVegas International Ltd acquiring all shares of Maltese-based Web Investments Limited, the company that owns the Royal Panda trademark, at a price of 60 million euros with a possible earn-out payment of another 60 million euros.
In order to achieve this acquisition, the LeoVegas Group had to receive debt financing for the sum of 100 million Euros, according to information released by the company.
The deal is expected to be complete within the next five weeks.
Affiliates of both companies are not likely to be affected adversely.
LeoVegas is known for its mobile gambling platforms and has had several award-winning innovations such as the “Nordic Operator of the Year” award, the “Mobile Marketing Campaign of the Year” and the “Innovation in Mobile Tablet of the Year”.
LeoVegas revenue increased by 40% to EUR 55.6 m (39.7) in the 3rd quarter 2017. Organic growth was 33%.
This past week it was also announced that sports betting specialist Kambi is to continue to provide its sportsbook and related services to LeoVegas for the long term after the two companies agreed a multi-year contract extension.
Kristian Nylen, Kambi CEO, said the contract renewal could be partly attributed to the empowerment capabilities the supplier provides its customers, with LeoVegas having been able to develop a unique sports betting experience on top of the Kambi sportsbook foundation.
“Since partnering in 2016, Kambi has enjoyed a close working relationship with LeoVegas, co-creating a differentiated product proven to appeal to players across various markets and demographics,” he said.
“Contract extensions are particularly pleasing as they underline both the relevance of the outsourcing model and quality of our sportsbook, so we are of course delighted to have retained LeoVegas as a customer for the long term,” he added.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
