July 12, 2017

Partypoker owner GVC in the mood for more deals

The lack of a major sporting tournament this year has failed to knock the owner of online gambling brands Sportingbet and Bwin, as the acquisition-hungry firm said it would not rule out another deal.

GVC, which was catapulted into the FTSE 250 on the back of its most recent deal to buy Bwin, feels it is now in a position to seek out another rival in spite of completing two major deals in three years.

“The organic opportunity is significant, whilst we are also well positioned to pursue further acquisition opportunities should they arise,” chief executive Kenny Alexander said.

He added the amount the company spends on marketing would return to more normal levels at the end of the year meaning he was confident about the group’s potential performance.

The business freed up some cash earlier this year after refinancing a short-term loan from Cerberus Business Finance it had used to fund the Bwin acquisition. It agreed a €320m (£280m) lending deal with investment bank Nomura, comprising €250m to pay Cerberus the remainder it owed them, and a €70m credit facility.

In the six months to June 30, GVC saw net gaming revenue - the amounts staked minus winnings - rise 10pc to €484.8m. This was higher than the 7pc growth rate of the comparable year in spite of that period benefiting from the first few weeks of the 2016 European football championships.

While sports betting was down in terms of the amount of wagers being made by customers, its gaming brands more than took up the slack, with a 17pc rise in net gaming revenue to hit €1m per day.

The rise in customers within its gaming division has been helped by the Bwin acquisition, which completed in February last year, as Partypoker and other casino brands enticed players. The firm bought Sportingbet in March 2013.

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