PARIS, March 6 /PRNewswire/ — MANGAS GAMING, French leading group in online gaming and sports betting, which operates Betclic, active in France and Southern Europe, announces the two following transactions:
– The acquisition of all the operations of Expekt, a major
online sports betting company, addressing primarily the Scandinavian
and Northern European markets. Expekt is also a major player in online
poker.
– The acquisition of a controlling stake in Bet-at-home from
its founders. Bet-at-home, a Frankfort listed company, is an online
betting and gaming operator mainly present in Central and Eastern
Europe. A public offer will be launched shortly to acquire the shares
held by Bet-at-Home's minority shareholders.
Both transactions benefit from the full support of the management of the acquired companies.
With these acquisitions, MANGAS GAMING, enters the top 5 online sports betting operators in Europe, with gross gaming revenues amounting to around 200 million euros in 2009, over 4 million registered clients and a staff of about 500 people.
Present in more than 25 countries, the group now benefits from a balanced breakdown of its activities over continental Europe while maintaining a strong focus on local market expertise, and offers its services through websites in 24 different languages.
MANGAS GAMING, managed by Isabelle Parize, plans to pursue its pan-European development in a fast-growing industry.
Both transactions, which remain subject to customary regulatory approvals, will be financed through the existing resources of MANGAS GAMING, which is co-controlled by Financiere Lov, Stephane Courbit's patrimonial holding company, and Societe des Bains de Mer (SBM).
Lazard acted as exclusive financial adviser to MANGAS GAMING in these transactions.