London listed gambling technology company Playtech, has announced that it has agreed to acquire a 70.6 per cent stake in rival Italian betting and gaming firm Snaitech for an amount of €291 million in cash, in an endeavor to source most of its revenue from regulated markets.
In terms of the agreement that was brokered with Snaitech shareholders Global Games and Ol Games, Playtech is required to make a mandatory takeover offer for the remaining shares in Snaitech on completion of the initial acquisition.
Playtech has revealed that after making the mandatory takeover offer, the enterprise value of the company will be an amount of €846 million, which includes Snaitech’s debt.
It is expected that Playtech will obtain shareholder and regulatory approval for the deal in the third quarter of this year and the group is anticipating the overall transaction to complete in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Mor Weizer, the Chief Executive Officer of Playtech, commented on the deal by saying that the acquisition of Snaitech represents the continuation of their strategy to invest in leading retail brands in fast growing, regulated markets.
Weizer went on to say that Playtech has been at the forefront of its industry and the acquisition offers the opportunity to create a vertically integrated B2B2C operator in Europe’s largest gambling market, delivering significant value to shareholders.
The Chief Executive of Snaitech, Fabio Schiavolin, added that the combination of Playtech’s technology and experience in Italy with Snaitech’s powerful brand mean they will be better able to capture the online opportunity in the fast growing and dynamic Italian market.