Scandinavian-focused operator Unibet has bought Malta-based sportsbook MrBookmaker for US$136.3m in one of the largest European egaming deals to-date.
MrBookmaker is one of the dominant players in the growing French gambling sector, which was recently named as the most active online gambling country in Europe by Nielsen//NetRatings.
The firm, owned by management and Belgian venture capital funds, posted a 2004 turnover of US$59.2m, with gross winnings of US$10.7m and an operating profit of US$5m.
But it has seen strong growth in the first half of 2005 with, turnover up to US$51.1m, a gross win of US$11.2m and an operating profit of US$5.8m.
The deal will add 32,000 active sports-betting customers to Unibet’s database, but will substantially alter the make-up of Unibet’s players who are predominately from the Nordic regions.
"Unibet/MrBookmaker.com will become one of the leading European Gambling companies,” Petter Nylander, chief executive of Unibet, said.
Alongside sports betting MrBookmaker also offers casino gaming, using the same NetEtertainment software as Unibet, but has yet to launch a poker room.
The deal involves an up front payment of US$40m in cash, US$40m in loan notes and 2.4 million shares in Unibet.
Didier Derwyn, chief executive of MrBookmaker, said the firm had attracted interest from several egaming firms, but he felt Unibet was the best fit.
“The main driver was the compelling industrial fit between the companies as well as a strong preference from the MrBookmaker.com management for Unibet,” Derwyn said.
MrBookmaker’s management, including Derwyn who also serves as the chief executive of the European Betting Association, are expected to take up senior positions in Unibet.
source : egr magazine
