888 Holdings Sells Bingo Branch to Broadway Gaming
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Leading British gambling operator 888 Holdings recently confirmed the sale of its bingo business to Broadway Gaming Group.
After completing a strategic review of bingo, 888 agreed a $50 million deal for one of the biggest bingo sites UK including its exclusive technology, assets and consumer-facing brands.
888’s bingo business currently operates on a separate technology platform which is managed by a designated operations team.
The decision will allow 888 to focus on other verticals such as sports betting and iGaming, along with growing its footprint in the emerging United States market.
The agreement is on a cash and debt-free basis, allowing 888 to keep all the cash from its balance sheet and pay off its debt at the time of the sale.
Itai Pazner, 888 chief executive, said: “Following a strategic review, we have taken the decision to sell the bingo business.
“This strategic transaction will enable 888 to further increase its focus on its core platform and unified, scalable and proprietary technology, and grow our key product verticals of casino, sport and poker, as we continue in our mission to be one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming businesses.
“The high-quality bingo business has been an important part of 888’s history, and over many years we have developed an advanced B2B offering alongside a suite of popular consumer-facing brands.
“As part of an enlarged business, I am very confident that the future for the bingo business is bright. I would like to express my immense gratitude for all of the hard work of the team over the years.”
The sale is scheduled to be completed during the second quarter of 2022, and is subject to the new structure receiving a license to operate under British laws.
David Butler, CEO of Broadway Gaming, added: “We are delighted to reach an agreement with 888 to acquire its bingo business and platform.
“By combining these with our existing business and brands, which include ‘Butlers Bingo’, we will be able to achieve an even stronger global footprint in key regulated bingo markets.
“We have worked intensively with the 888 group over the course of the last few months and have been very impressed by the quality of the bingo platform and product, the B2C and B2B businesses, its approach to safer gambling and player protection, and above all the management team.
“We see significant further expansion opportunities in both the B2C and B2B segments, and are very excited about our plans for the future, as we work closely together to become the pre-eminent online bingo business globally.”
The sale of the bingo business will help 888 offset some of the costs of its impending takeover of the non-US assets of William Hill and William Hill International.
Originally scheduled to be completed during the early part of the year, this has now been pushed back to the second quarter of 2022.
The company is scheduled to publish a combined circular and prospectus for the acquisition and capital raise, with a shareholder vote to follow.
The capital raise element of the process was originally designed to generate £500m of gross proceeds by issuing new equity.
When the deal was first announced, Pazner described it as a key step along the road to 888 becoming the dominant force in the gambling industry.
“This transaction will create one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming groups with superior scale, leading technology, increased diversification, and a platform for strong growth, supported by a portfolio of iconic brands,” he said.
“The appointment of Guy Cohen to the critical role of SVP, Director of Integration also strengthens our leadership and commitment to this important process, as we look to leverage the significant expertise and talent from both businesses to benefit the combined group.”
While these deals highlight 888’s commitment to expanding their brand, it is unclear what their long-term plans are for William Hill’s retail outlets.
Apollo Global Management, Betfred and BoyleSports have all previously expressed strong interest in acquiring this portion of the business.
