GiG interim CEO praises Time2Play Media’s impact on the business
Jonas Warrer says Malta-based firm is already learning from new subsidiary following December acquisition but notes there are further improvements to make
Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) interim CEO Jonas Warrer has hailed the impact Time2Play Media has already had on the firm since its December acquisition but said he hopes the purchase will improve results in North America.
The brand, formerly known as KaFe Rocks, was acquired by the Malta-based firm in December for a total of €35m, with a €15m up front payment.
Despite being in the early stages of the purchase, Warrer stated in the post-Q4 investor call that GiG Media was already seeing positives from the move.
Pointing to a meeting in Copenhagen with Time2Play Media employees, Warrer said he could see the “hunger in eyes”.
Speaking on the early stages, he said: “I think it looks as good as we imagined it would. I’m actually very positively surprised about some of the things that the KaFe Rocks team have been doing that are clever.
“They are doing things, some things better than us. And I’m very happy to see that. I saw the hunger in a few people’s eyes, for instance, you see the BI tool that we have because they know that they can improve the business for that. But so far it’s been good and it looks good.”
However, despite the positive start for Time2Play Media, Warrer was adamant in the need for improvements in North America for the group, with the newly acquired firm set to play a key role in that growth.
In its Q4 results, the affiliate noted 13% of group revenue came from North America while noting the region demonstrated “good revenue growth”.
Warrer said the addition of Time2Play Media would allow GiG to improve in North America, stating that he was “not satisfied” at the current results.
On growth in the region, Warrer said: “I would call it basic improvements across the few sites that we have there. Honestly speaking, it’s nice to see the improvement, the team has done an amazing job.
“But we are still not satisfied with the results we are making in the US. I think we have potential to do a lot more and which is also one of the reasons why we acquired KaFe Rocks.
“But both KaFe Rocks and also the assets we have now in the US, we hope to be able to keep improving them, to take them to a far higher levels going forward.”