PLAYTECH TO ACQUIRE SKILL GAMES COMPANY

11 December 2009

Purchase price could go as high as Euro 21.6 million

The Isle of Man-based online gambling software provider Playtech plc has acquired skill games provider Gaming Technology Solutions for an initial Euro 10.8 million, with further amounts based on performance over the next two years capped at Euro 21.6.

Observers have described the deal as a good buy based on GTS' 12 months to June 2009, when it recorded revenues of Euro 2.6 million and adjusted PBT of Euro 300 000, before amortisation of intangibles of Euro 1.8 million.

For Playtech, the acquisition brings a highly regarded open platform, a range of games which complement its own core in-house products, and an enhanced product pipeline. The combination will produce a very substantial games selection library for operators for both casino and soft games. GTS' EdGE platform can be integrated within Playtech's Integrated Managed Solution (IMS) player management system and as such can substantially increase an operator's capacity for cross-selling onto higher margin products.

Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said, "GTS has among its licensee base many of the most well-established European sportsbetting operators and we look forward to developing closer ties with them." He added that GTS products would complement the Playtech offering, facilitating expansion into regulated markets such as Italy and France.

“Our agreement with GTS is a strategic move," said Weizer. "It will enable us to work with a true open platform and integrate new games seamlessly. We have been looking to enhance our open content capabilities, and in effect become an aggregator of quality gaming content. Not many service providers can do that.”

With licensing agreements with 15 European gaming companies and 30 separate internet gaming brands, GTS brings a good range of clients to the table. Its client list includes 10 operators which do not at present use the Playtech software range, among them major gambling groups such as Unibet and Bwin.

“The success of the games sections in sports betting operators sites is evident, and this deal will give Playtech greater exposure to what is one of the fastest growing industry segments," Weizer said, adding that the new acquisition broadens his company's Internet gambling offering, and revealing that the company's acquisition of sports technology firm Player2Players earlier this year (see previous InfoPowa report) gives Playtech a base from which to develop a sportsbetting platform.

Online Casino News Courtesy of Infopowa

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