Sportingbet subsidiaries, Sportingbet Holdings and Interactive Sports, have entered into a conditional binding agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Danbook and Scandic Bookmakers.
The aggregate maximum consideration payable for both Danbook and Scandic is £8.5m. Focused on the Danish market, the operators offer customers a range of fixed odds sports betting, casino, poker and games.
Denmark has passed regulatory legislation that comes into force on January 1, 2012, with the first licences due to be issued on December 15, 2011. Sportingbet views this regulatory framework as representing a commercially viable opportunity and has already applied for a licence. The combination of Danbook and Scandic with the existing Danish businesses of Sportingbet and the recently acquired Centrebet will transform Sportingbet into one of the largest players in the Danish market.
The deal is expected to close early in 2012 following the satisfaction of conditions including the successful award of new Danish gambling licences to both Danbook and Scandic and the launch of websites compliant with the new Danish regulations. The maximum aggregate consideration payable across both transactions comprises £4m of cash and £0.5m of Sportingbet shares payable immediately on closing, with a further £4m of cash to be paid across both transactions following the successful migration of the businesses of Danbook and Scandic onto the Sportingbet platform.
Sportingbet chief executive Andrew McIver commented: "These acquisitions emphasise Sportingbet’s commitment to generating revenue from regulated markets. We have already demonstrated our ability to deliver strong growth in licensed territories such as Australia and we are excited by the opportunity that Denmark represents."
