“We didn’t know that we were that attractive,” says Tsachi Maimon, CEO of Aspire Global, after being quizzed on last week’s acquisitive approach by NeoGames as it looks to create “a leading global provider in interactive content”.
This could cap a busy few months for the group, which has entered into, and finalised, the $75.9m sale of its B2C division to Esports Technologies, and also gained a 25 per cent stake in bingo supplier End 2 End for $1.75m with an option to acquire all remaining shares in three or five-years time.
However, Maimon, who is to join NeoGames as president and lead the newly formed igaming division, said that this earlier deal was not a trigger for what followed.
“The effect of selling off the B2C was not part of that, because we didn’t plan to be bought by anyone,” he tells CasinoBeats.
“So, the fact that we went in to move to sell the B2C [division] is more for us to invest into the technology, in the product, in the entry of markets for our partners, so it was mainly to make us a little bit more, focused on the service and product that we are offering. And we believe that maybe someone else will do a better job with the B2C.”
The proposal, which Maimon praises as a quality stamp for the business, of approximately $480m, is equivalent to SEK 4.3bn representing SEK 91.03 per share, and has been recommended to shareholders of the bid committee of the B2B igaming technology solutions provider.
“You feel good when someone wants to offer a lot of money, a lot of time, in order to buy what you have been able to build and achieve for a very long time,” it is added.
Upon receipt of the potential transaction, Maimon lauded the sale as representing a “natural next step for our company,” and within the interview (above) elaborates on how it represents an organic progression in the Aspire journey.
“If we established ourselves as a strong B2B, it’s natural that a big player like NeoGames would want to take us even faster and broader to what we would be able to achieve,” Maimon continues.
“This is why it’s a natural step, because someone wants to enjoy what we were able to achieve. It’s not easy.”