To contribute 888 Romanian ops plus 10 mln eur consideration (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 23 Aug - The UK betting and gaming company evoke, whose brands include William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, said it has acquired New Gambling Solutions (NGS), which operates Winner.ro, with Romania becoming the company's fifth Core Market, joining the UK, Italy, Spain, and Denmark.

evoke will inject its Romanian 888 business plus a cash consideration of 10 million euros on a debt-free, cash-free basis in exchange for a 51% share in the enlarged Romania business, which will bring together 888.ro with Winner to create the fourth-largest group in the market with combined market share of approximately 7%.

The combined Romania business will operate a multi-brand strategy, leveraging a local hero brand alongside a highly-complementary, world-renowned casino brand.

Based on a 2026 earn-out calculation, evoke will own between 51-57% of the business, with an option at its sole discretion to increase ownership to 100% from the third anniversary of completion.

evoke estimates that the Romanian market was worth approximately 1.1 billion euros in net revenue in 2023 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 13% from 2023-2026. In the first six months of 2024, Winner delivered gross gaming revenue of approximately 19 million euros.

The combined business will be managed by Nicklas Zajdel, the current Winner CEO.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory clearances and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.

The transaction is not expected to impact financial leverage in 2024, and is expected to be earnings enhancing in 2025 and beyond. It does not change the recently issued guidance for the 2024 fiscal year with second half revenue growth of 5-9% and an adjusted EBITDA margin expected to improve to approximately 21%.

AAA-Sch

(RADIOCOR) 23-08-24 11:38:12 (0218) 5 NNNN