Today, the High Court of Justice in the UK made an order to sanction the scheme of arrangement regarding Betsson AB's cash offer to acquire all shares in NetPlay TV plc (NetPlay). All conditions for completion of the offer have now been satisfied or waived. The offer is expected to become effective on March 31st 2017, whereupon NetPlay becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Betsson.
Betsson will as of completion of the offer implement the integration plan of the NetPlay organisation and the brands; Jackpot247, Supercasino and Vernons. As previously communicated in the scheme document, Betsson has a long-term view on the acquisition but there are also some immediate synergies including the delisting of the company from AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange.
Betsson will also execute a number of operational changes. The currently outsourced customer service and payment operations will be centralised to Malta and crucial CRM and VIP functions will be moved closer to the rest of the Betsson business, where learnings can be shared. Furthermore, Betsson and NetPlay office locations in the UK will be consolidated. The three brands operate on a third-party system and is planned to be migrated to Techsson in 2019, when current agreements run out.
“With the addition of NetPlay and the continued organic growth, UK is on its way to become one of Betsson’s most important markets. Also, this acquisition is a good example of our strategy to acquire subscale operators where integration with Betsson’s systems and processes can realise synergies”, said Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO and President of Betsson.
The total offer consideration amounts to GBP 26.4 million (on a fully diluted basis) and one-off transaction costs, which will be reported in the first quarter results, amounted to SEK 4.3 million. More information on the acquisition will be disclosed in Betsson’s interim report for the first quarter 2017, published on April 27th.
The expected time plan for the remaining steps in the offer process is as follows:
31 March 2017 – The scheme of arrangement becomes effective (meaning that Betsson becomes the owner of all shares in NetPlay)
3 April 2017 – Trading of NetPlay shares on AIM to be cancelled
12 April 2017 – Settlement regarding the NetPlay shares to be commenced
Further details on the offer can be found on www.betssonab.com.
Credit Suisse International is acting as financial advisor and Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP and Wiggin LLP are acting as legal advisors to Betsson in relation to the offer.
For further information, please contact:
Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO and President Betsson AB
+46 (0)8 506 403 00
Pia Rosin, VP Corporate Communication Betsson AB
+46 (0)73 600 85 00, pia.rosin@betssonab.com
This information is information that Betsson AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, on March 29th, 2017, at 12.30 CET.
