Betsson Acquires BetSafe.com in €60m deal
Swedish-owned Betsson has acquired BetSafe.com in a deal said to be worth €60m.
“This deal will fuel our growth,” said Betsson chief executive Pontus Lindwall (pictured). “We strengthen our position in the Nordic region as well as our organisation when merging two profitable companies, each of which has proven its ability to gain market share in a highly competitive market environment.”
A statement issued by the company says it will pay an initial €32.5m in cash and shares for the privately owned operator. Another €27.5m payable conditional on “the development of the acquisition and the integration thereof during 2011.”
Betsson is based out of Malta but the majority of its business comes from Scandinavia. It was founded in 2002, obtaining an official London bookmaker license at that time.
In March 2005, Betsson reached the 100,000 registered customers milestone and further expanded into Turkey, Iceland and Denmark. Later, the company launched sites in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Peru, Serbia and the Netherlands. They hit the one million registered customers milestone in 2008.
BetSafe.com started in 2006 and claims to have over 500.000 customers from over 100 different countries.
Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
