NetEnt acquires slots rival Red Tiger Gaming in £223m deal
Stockholm-listed provider to pay an initial £197m in an all-cash deal for the online slots studio
NetEnt has acquired rival online slots provider Red Tiger Gaming in a deal worth up to £223m, the Stockholm-listed company announced today.
The deal will see NetEnt pay an initial £197m for 100% of the shares in Red Tiger, as well as an additional £23m payable in 2022 on an earn-out basis, subject to Red Tiger’s financial performance.
According to today’s announcement, Red Tiger’s full-year EBITDA is expected to reach £18m in 2019.
“The acquisition combines two of the leading and most innovative companies in the online gaming industry,” Therese Hillman, group CEO of NetEnt, said.
“We look forward to working with Red Tiger’s fantastic team to enhance our combined global reach and to offer further value to operators and players. The transaction will provide significant revenue synergies across our markets worldwide.”
Gavin Hamilton, CEO of Red Tiger, added: “This is an exciting new stage of the Red Tiger story and we are delighted to become part of the NetEnt group.
“Accessing NetEnt’s unparalleled distribution network and geographic footprint will unlock new opportunities for Red Tiger and will further accelerate our growth.
“At Red Tiger we’ll remain focused as always on driving further innovation and we are looking forward to working with NetEnt on how to leverage our combined capabilities to create new products that wow our customers.”
Red Tiger was established in 2014 and has approximately 170 employees with operations in Malta, Isle of Man and Bulgaria.