Sportingbet targets Danish market with new acquisitions

Sportingbet has made a move into the soon-to-be liberalised Danish online gaming market following the acquisition of Danish bookmakers Danbook Limited and Scandic Bookmakers Limited for a combined £8.5m.

Sportingbet said that its wholly owned subsidiaries, Sportingbet Holdings Limited (SHL) and Interactive Sports (C.I.) Limited (ISCI), have each entered into a conditional binding agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Danbook and Scandic respectively.

Danbook and Scandic are both focused on the Danish market, where they offer customers a full range of fixed odds sports betting, casino, poker and games. The aggregate maximum consideration payable for both Danbook and Scandic is £8.5m.

Denmark has passed regulatory legislation that comes into force on January 1st 2012, with the first licenses due to be issued on December 15th.

Sportingbet said that it views this regulatory framework as representing a “commercially viable opportunity”, and has already applied for a licence in the country. The company believes that a combination of Danbook and Scandic, together with its existing Danish business and the recently acquired Centrebet, will transform Sportingbet into one of the largest players in the Danish market.

“These acquisitions emphasise Sportingbet's commitment to generating revenue from regulated markets,” said Andrew McIver, Sportingbet chief executive. “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.”

The deal is expected to close in early 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 added that a number of key individuals within Danbook and Scandic will be retained to provide services to Sportingbet and the enlarged group.