An announcement came this week from Internet gambling group Betsson AB that it will acquire the leading Scandinavian brands Sverigeautomaten, Norgesautomaten and Danmarksautomaten (all dotcom) thanks to a deal it hit with Cherry.
The consideration paid for the deal will amount to SEK 286 million, of which SEK 60 million constitutes an additional purchase price. The initial net consideration of SEK 225 million will be paid by the delivery of 1,063,895 newly issued Betsson B shares, and the additional purchase price will be paid in cash after one year.
Therefore, Betsson AB's subsidiary in Malta, which is already responsible for the operation of the Automaten sites, will take over both the brands and their external marketing, while in return, Cherry will acquire the Cherrycasino dotcom site from Betsson AB's Maltese subsidiary, for a consideration of SEK 1 million.
According to Betsson AB CEO, Magnus Silfverberg, "The deal is in line with our strategy to focus on B2C in our core markets in the Nordics. Our judgment is that the acquired brands will develop stronger internally because we can use the marketing power and scale advantages of the entire Betsson group."
