Evolution Gaming Announces Acquisition of NetEnt!
On June 24, 2020, Evolution Gaming Group AB (publ), which provides the world’s top live casino solutions, announced the acquisition of NetEnt AB (publ), which provides online casino slots and live casinos.
There have been rumors of a merger between the two giants for some time, but instead of an equal relationship, the deal ended with Evolution Gaming taking full control of NetEnt.
The amount of the transaction is said to be 1.9 billion euros (2.1 billion US dollars), which is a huge acquisition of about 230 billion yen when converted to Japanese yen.
To put it simply, it’s shocking news, like the merger of Japanese game companies Square and Enix to form Square Enix.
*It is just a degree of impact.
Founded in 1996 and led by Chairman Mathias Hedlund, NetEnt is a digital entertainment company that develops game and system solutions for online casino sites (operators).
The company currently employs 1,100 people in Malta, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Kyiv, Krakow, Sofia, Gibraltar and New Jersey. NetEnt’s Series B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker NET-B.
So far, he has built a huge brand in the iGaming industry, centering on a number of masterpiece slots.
Founded in 2006 and led by Chairman Jens von Bahr, Evolution Gaming develops, manufactures, sells and licenses live casino solutions to gaming operators.
The company has evolved into a B2B provider serving over 300 operators and the group now employs around 8,000 people in studios in Europe and North America.
The parent company is based in Sweden and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker EVO.
It is a company that continues to expand NO.
It can be said that the decision to merge these two companies has made us the No. 1 company in the industry.
Evolution’s acquisition of NetEnt has already been approved by the UK’s Competitive Market Authority (CMA) and also cleared the Malta Competition and Consumer Authority’s criteria on September 29.
Once the merger of the two companies is complete, the combination of Evolution’s live casinos and NetEnt’s online slots will make the global gaming industry’s A B2B provider has been created that could drive digitization.
In June 2020, NetEnt accepted a €1.8 billion (approximately 230 billion Japanese Yen) takeover offer from Evolution Gaming. This represents the purchase of 90% of NetEnt’s corporate shares by Evolution Gaming at a price of €7 per share.
The combination of Evolution Gaming and NetEnt provides worldwide coverage in the UK and Europe’s largest casino sites, Asia, America and beyond.
The US market, which is regulated by a single state, has the potential to become Evolution Gaming’s largest market over time.
Studios are planned in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan for Evolution Gaming to offer its current live casino services.
In addition, the integration of NetEnt’s US presence in online slots will accelerate the development of the combined company into the US online gaming market.
Each combined product will drive increased revenue through cross-selling and improved distribution through both companies’ customer bases, resulting in closer customer partnerships and synergies. We will continue to grow internationally.
The partnership is expected to result in annual cost savings of approximately €30 million compared to the combined NetEnt and Evolution cost base in the first quarter of 2020.