TIDMENT
RNS Number : 9350A
Entain PLC
07 February 2022
7 February 2022
Entain plc
("Entain" or the "Group")
Acquisition of Avid Gaming including leading Canadian online
sports betting and gaming brand Sports Interaction
Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the leading global sports betting, gaming
and interactive entertainment operator ("Entain" or the "Group"),
announces today that it has acquired Deis Ltd ("Avid Gaming" or the
"Company") for CAD300 million (approximately GBP174m(1) ) from
Middlebrook Investments Limited.
Avid Gaming owns Sports Interaction, Canada's leading online
sports betting brand. It is headquartered in Jersey (Channel
Islands), with offices in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawà:ke and
Ireland.
Avid Gaming exclusively licenses the Sports Interaction
trademark and provides proprietary online betting and gaming
products and services to the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke ("MCK")
and the Mohawk Online socioeconomic initiative. Mohawk Online,
which is wholly-owned by the MCK, operates Sports Interaction in
Canada.
Canada is a highly attractive and fast-growing sports betting
and gaming market. Together with Entain's application for an
Ontario licence, this acquisition provides an excellent opportunity
to drive further growth, in line with the Group's growth and
sustainability strategy.
Sports Interaction's sports-led offering is highly complementary
to Entain's existing Canadian business, comprising the Party and
bwin brands. The combination will bring Entain's global scale,
expertise and market-leading platform together with Sports
Interaction's local expertise, capabilities and partnerships. As a
result the combined business will provide customers with a broader
offering of engaging products and services for the Canadian market.
Will Golby, Avid Gaming's CEO, along with other members of the
leadership team, will transition to Entain.
The Group is delighted to continue supporting the socioeconomic
efforts of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke through Sports Interaction's
unique exclusive relationship with Mohawk Online. In line with
economic principles adopted by Canada under the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Mohawk Online
revenues are invested back into the community of Kahnawà:ke to
provide essential funding for cultural and language programmes,
schools, healthcare and other public services. 50% of Avid Gaming
employees in Kahnawà:ke are Mohawk, and in 2020 Mohawk Online
revenues played a vital role in Kahnawà:ke's Covid 19 relief
efforts.
Sports Interaction has experienced rapid growth in recent years
with gross revenues in 2021 increasing by c40% year on year to
CAD76million (approximately GBP44m(1) ) . The business generated
EBITDA of CAD18m (approximately GBP10.4m (1) ) and profits before
tax of CAD17.4 million (approximately GBP10.1m(1) ) in the year
ended 31 December 2021 (after the contribution to the community of
Kahnawà:ke). As at 30 September 2021, it had gross assets of
approximately CAD41.0 million (approximately GBP23.7m(1) ).
The combination is expected to deliver approximately CAD15
million (approximately GBP8.7m(1) ) of synergies in 2023,
predominantly from technology, content and procurement benefits.
This results in a post synergies acquisition multiple for Entain of
approximately 7x 2023 EBITDA. The consideration for the acquisition
has been paid from existing facilities.
Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of Entain plc, comments:
"Sports Interaction is the leading Canadian sports betting and
gaming brand and is aligned perfectly with our own ambitions of
great customer service and ambitious growth, coupled with an
unwavering commitment to sustainability. It is highly complementary
to our existing operations in Canada, and the combination of its
local expertise and Entain's powerful platform will provide
customers with an unrivalled range of exciting and engaging
products in this fast-growing market. We look forward to welcoming
Will Golby and his team to Entain.
Investing in the communities where we operate is a key pillar of
Entain's sustainability strategy. We are therefore delighted to be
supporting the Mohawk Online socio-economic initiative."
Will Golby, CEO of Avid Gaming, comments:
"We are delighted to be joining forces with Entain, which is an
exceptional company combining world-class brands, strong leadership
and a winning strategy. It has a unique approach to local markets,
and no other company of its scale consistently delivers so many
well-executed, localised approaches to the same level of
customisation and detail. Entain's commitment to sustainability,
responsible gaming and community investment aligns exactly with our
own business philosophy, and we look forward to a bright future
together."
Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, Grand Chief of Mohawk Council of
Kahnawà:ke, comments:
"Entain is a world class operator with a genuine desire to
positively contribute to the communities in which it operates.
Kahnawà:ke is well known in the gaming industry, not only for our
internationally recognized jurisdiction through the Kahnawà:ke
Gaming Commission, but also for our socio-economic initiative,
Mohawk Online. This new partnership between Entain and the Mohawks
of Kahnawà:ke is mutually beneficial, and brings with it prime
opportunity for bolstering our self-sufficiency through the
continuing success of Sports Interaction."
Note: (1) CAD / GBP FX rate of 0.5788 as of 4 February 2022
Enquiries:
Investor Relations - Entain plc investors@entaingroup.com
David Lloyd-Seed, david.lloyd-seed@entaingroup.com
Group Director of IR & Corporate
Communications
Davina Hobbs, Head of Investor Relations davina.hobbs@entaingroup.com
Callum Sims, Investor Relations Manager callum.sims@entaingroup.com
Media - Entain plc media@entaingroup.com
Tessa Curtis, Head of Group PR & tessa.curtis@entaingroup.com
Media Relations jay.dossetter@entaingroup.com
Jay Dossetter, Head of ESG and Press
Office
Media - Powerscourt Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446
Rob Greening / Nick Hayns entain@powerscourt-group.com
LEI: 213800GNI3K45LQR8L28
About Entain:
Entain plc (LSE: ENT) is a FTSE100 company and is one of the
world's largest sports-betting and gaming groups, operating both
online and in the retail sector. The Group owns a comprehensive
portfolio of established brands; Sports Brands include bwin,
Bet.pt, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds and
Sportingbet; Gaming Brands include CasinoClub, Foxy Bingo, Gala,
Gioco Digitale, Ninja Casino, Optibet, partypoker and PartyCasino.
The Group owns proprietary technology across all its core product
verticals and in addition to its B2C operations provides services
to a number of third-party customers on a B2B basis.
The Group has a joint-venture with MGM Resorts International
creating a leader, BetMGM, in sports-betting and iGaming in the US.
Entain provides the technology which powers BetMGM and exclusive
games and products, specially developed at its in-house gaming
studios. The Group is tax resident in the UK with licenses in a
total of 27 regulated markets. Entain is a leader in ESG, a member
of FTSE4Good, the DJSI and is AA rated by MSCI. The Group has set a
science-based target, committing to be carbon net zero by 2035 and
through the Entain Foundation supports a variety of initiatives,
focusing on safer gambling, grassroots sport, diversity in
technology and community projects.
For more information see the Group's website:
www.entaingroup.com
The person responsible for arranging for the release of this
announcement on behalf of the Company is Emily Carey (Company
Secretary).
About Avid Gaming:
Avid Gaming is headquartered in Jersey with offices in
Kahnawà:ke (MCK) and Ireland. The company is the exclusive supplier
of the Sports Interaction trademark and gaming products and
services to Mohawk Online, a socioeconomic initiative wholly-owned
and governed by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK).
Avid Gaming retained Partis as advisor for the transaction.
Important notices
Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking
statements with respect to the Company's expectations, intentions
and projections regarding its future performance, strategic
initiatives, anticipated events or trends and other matters that
are not historical facts and which are, by their nature, inherently
predictive, speculative and involve risks and uncertainty because
they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may
not occur in the future. All statements that address expectations
or projections about the future, including statements about
operating performance, strategic initiatives, objectives, market
position, industry trends, general economic conditions, expected
expenditures, expected cost savings and financial results are
forward--looking statements. Any statements contained in this
announcement that are not statements of historical fact are, or may
be deemed to be, forward--looking statements. These forward-looking
statements, which may use words such as "aim", "anticipate",
"believe", "could", "intend", "estimate", "expect", "may", "plan",
"project" or words or terms of similar meaning or the negative
thereof, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject
to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. There are a number of
factors including, but not limited to, commercial, operational,
economic and financial factors, that could cause actual results,
financial condition, performance or achievements to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors
that are beyond the Company's ability to control or estimate
precisely, such as changes in taxation or fiscal policy, future
market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behaviour of
other
market participants, the actions of governments or governmental
regulators, or other risk factors, such as changes in the
political, social and regulatory framework in which the Company
operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions,
including inflation, recession and consumer confidence, on a
global, regional or national basis. Given those risks and
uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date of this announcement. The Company and its
affiliates, and any of its or their respective directors, officers,
partners, employees, advisers or agents (collectively,
"Representatives") expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to update or revise publicly any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise unless required to do so by applicable law or
regulation.
In particular, no statement in this announcement is intended to
be a profit forecast or profit estimate and no statement of a
financial metric (including estimates of EBITDA, profit before tax,
free cash flow or net debt) should be interpreted to mean that any
financial metric for the current or future financial years would
necessarily match or exceed the historical published position of
the Company and its subsidiaries. Certain statements in this
announcement may contain estimates. The estimates set out in this
announcement have been prepared based on numerous assumptions and
forecasts, some of which are outside of the Company's influence
and/or control, and is therefore inherently uncertain and there can
be no guarantee or assurance that it will be correct. The estimates
have not been audited, reviewed, verified or subject to any
procedures by the Company's auditors. Undue reliance should not be
placed on them and there can be no guarantee or assurance that they
will be correct.
This announcement is being issued by and is the sole
responsibility of the Company. No representation or warranty,
express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to,
and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by or on
behalf of the Company (apart from the responsibilities or
liabilities that may be imposed by the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000, as amended or the regulatory regime established
thereunder) or by its affiliates or any of its Representatives as
to, or in relation to, the accuracy, adequacy, fairness or
completeness of this announcement or any other written or oral
information made available to or publicly available to any
interested party or its advisers or any other statement made or
purported to be made by or on behalf of the Company or any of its
affiliates or any of its Representatives in connection with the
Company and any responsibility and liability whether arising in
tort, contract or otherwise therefore is expressly disclaimed.
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