NYX to acquire Openbet

NYX Gaming Group through NYX Digital Gaming Limited, a newly incorporated, wholly owned subsidiary of Holdco, along with co-investment partners William Hill Plc and Sky Betting & Gaming (SkyBet), have put industry speculation to rest with the announcement of the acquisition of OB Topco Limited, more commonly recognised as Openbet.

NYX and its co-investors will acquire 100 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of OpenBet from funds managed by Vitruvian Partners LLP, its co-investors and management for a total consideration of GBP 270 million.

William Hill and SkyBet will partially fund the transaction with a preferred equity investment of GBP 80 million and GBP 20 million respectively.

The consideration includes the repayment of OpenBet’s GBP 95.4 million third party debt.

NYX said it expects to generate annual cost synergies of C$4.0 to C$6.0 million and revenue synergies of C$8.0 to C$10.0 million following the acquisition and will benefit from OpenBet’s Sportsbook platform which will complete its product line-up and provide the merged entity opportunity for expansion in the U.K. and other regulated global markets.

In addition, and further to William Hill’s preferred equity investment, William Hill has engaged NYX and OpenBet in a development program to further modernise OpenBet’s technology which is expected to take approximately three years to complete and will generate GBP 10.0 million in EBITDA to NYX over the period.

The structure of the Transaction will allow NYX and OpenBet to further invest in the combined platform, products and content following completion of the development programme.

“The acquisition of OpenBet by NYX completes the portfolio of industry leading products and services we offer to our customers,” Matt Davey, chief executive officer of NYX Gaming Group said in a press statement.

“They are two highly complementary businesses with key strengths in regulated markets, technology services and gaming content. It positions NYX as the leading provider of B2B betting and gaming solutions on a global scale.”

Jeremy Thompson-Hill, chief executive officer of OpenBet added: “The joining of OpenBet and NYX is a natural union born out of synergies in product, the customer base and, importantly, culture. It will enable us to leverage our knowledge, strengths and resources to deliver our customers with best-in-class products and technologies across all verticals and channels.”

“I am delighted that William Hill is supporting NYX’s vision for growth and expansion into sports betting alongside its strong gaming proposition,” commented Robin Chhabra, group director of strategy & corporate development at William Hill. “Our investment in NYX builds on our long standing relationship with both NYX and OpenBet.”

Richard Flint, chief executive officer of SkyBetting & Gaming added: “We are confident that NYX will be excellent owners of OpenBet and will bring a fresh perspective to the business that will benefit all of their customers. We’re excited about the long term future of this business.”

The acquisition is subject to numerous conditions and approvals and is expected to be finalised by the end of May 2016.

In related news, NYX said it had reached agreement to sell its European Poker Business known as Ongame to a “partner with proven experience in the industry,” who will take on all costs, customer contracts and further development of the poker product effective March 31, 2016.

NYX will, however, retain both a significant share of the new business and exclusive rights to use the poker product across North America.