Interactive
Malta – GiG expands affiliate business with €45m AskGamblers brand acquisition
By Lewis - 15 December 2022
Gaming Innovation Group has signed an agreement to acquire the casino affiliate websites Askgamblers.com, Johnslots.com, Newcasinos.com and several smaller domains from Catena Media.
The total consideration is €45m, of which €20m will be paid in cash on closing, €10m twelve months after closing and the €15m balance 24 months after closing. Closing is expected in Q1 2023.
Askgamblers.com is a website source in the iGaming industry with strong brand recognition by users. Johnslots.com and Newcasinos.com build on GiG Media’s strategy to diversify its business.
Richard Brown, CEO of Gaming Innovation Group, commented: “GiG is extremely excited to take over the premium AskGamblers brand from Catena.
“Combining the assets with GiG’s media technology and operational capabilities, provides us with a great opportunity to expand our global reach and to deliver a path for the brand to continue with its strong evolution.
“The expansion of our strategic position in conjunction with the deal structure gives the group another great blueprint for growth. We look forward to integrating the assets and current staff into Gaming Innovation Group.”
The acquired websites generated revenue of €12.9m in the first nine months of 2022 with an EBITDA of €8.4m. GiG expects to have an EBITDA margin between 60-70 per cent from the assets going forward. The assets are expected to generate around 53.000 FTDs in 2022.
The acquired websites are strong in markets that currently are non-core markets for GiG Media, therefore expanding our current geographical reach. Further to the revenue growth potential, GiG believes operational synergies are expected to be realised after the acquisition via the shared use of marketing technologies, business intelligence systems and key functions.
The transaction is structured by way of a Share Purchase Agreement with GiG’s subsidiary Innovation Labs Ltd. (part of GiG Media) and includes the acquisition of the two companies Catena Publishing Ltd and Catena Media D.O.O. Beograd (Serbia). These companies currently employ around 90 people.
GiG will finance the initial consideration through a combination of own cash, a revolving credit facility (RCF) and a share issue. Existing shareholders have committed to participate in the share issue and the RCF, securing sufficient financing to complete the transaction at closing.
