Betsson has reiterated that M&A remains at the forefront of its quest for global expansion, following recent activity in Belgium and a vow that acquisitions are permanently on the radar when in conversation with SBC’s iGaming Daily podcast.
This follows the completion of a €75m bond issue, which saw Betsson stress that this move better positions the operator to make significant progress on multiple long term ambitions, of which acquisitions forms a key facet.
The senior unsecured bonds have a framework of up to €25m, tenor of three years, floating interest rate of EURIBOR three months plus 460 bps and final maturity date in September 2026.
This, the group noted, will be used towards general corporate purposes, which include, but are not limited to, acquisitions.
“The new bond provides us with additional financial flexibility and supports Betsson’s long-term strategy, which means continued investments to drive profitable growth,” Martin Öhman, CFO Betsson, said.
Earlier in the year, Pontus Lindwall, Betsson CEO, and Jesper Svensson, CEO of Betsson Operations, joined iGaming Daily following “another record-breaking quarter” being declared upon publication of the company’s H2 performance.
This delved into the group’s recent M&A moves, which included the acquisition of BetFirst and collaboration with Groupe Partouche, what regions the company is next eyeing for expansion and the impact that a certain sponsorship has had on its standing within Latin America.
Regarding any potential future purchases, Lindwall said: “Yes. I mean, we don’t do deals like this one every week, but M&A is a part of our growth strategy.
“We are permanently looking for M&A opportunities and being lucky to be such a profitable company with a strong balance sheet, we have the ability to acquire more companies even after this.”
Most recently, the company undertook the latest stage of European expansion after being granted a licence for the regulated Serbian online casino ecosystem.
This was undertaken through the Rizk brand, which was purchased from Gaming Innovation Group over three years ago.
The €33m April 2020 transaction saw Betsson acquire GiG’s Zecure Gaming B2C vertical, which included the Rizk brand as well as sister entities Guts, Kaboo and Thrills and related operational entities.
After recently revealing that revenue through the April-June timeframe increased 27 per cent to €236.8m (2022: €186.3m), the CEECA region was found to the group’s largest segment via a 68 per cent revenue uptick to €102.6m (2022: 61.1m).
