The Betfred Group has announced that it has finalized the purchase of sports betting brand Betting World from struggling Phumelela Gaming.
Betting World is Phemelela’s sports betting subsidiary and gives customers an opportunity to bet on a number of sports including rugby, cricket and football.
The deal was completed as of 1st June 2021 and the group is currently in the process of fulfilling its regulatory requirements in regard to the transfer of shareholding in the company.
It has been reported that the price of the deal is ZAR120 million ($6.1m/€7.1m/£8.7m). According to Phumelela, this price was subject to final adjustments and the final price will be published in a future business rescue plan update.
In September of last year, Phumelela rejected an acquisition bid of ZAR925m ($55.0m/€46.7m/£41.9m) from BetFred that would have acted as an alternative to the business rescue plan to accept a deal from Mary Oppenheimer’s Daughters instead.
A while ago Phumelela also suspended its trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as the company went into bankruptcy and was placed in a state of business rescue due to lockdowns in South Africa that had affected business very badly. The rescue plan entailed debts of approximately $312 million.
Phil Siers, CCO at Betfred commented that they are delighted to see the Betfred International service extended to South Africa, and look forward to becoming a leading South African bookmaker and providing a world class service to all their new customers.
Siers went on to say that the last 12months have been difficult for all businesses, but Betfred is excited about the future of Betting World and intends to make a major investment in Africa over the coming years.