888 Holdings plc 888 acquires Costa Bingo (4141Q)

TIDM888

RNS Number : 4141Q

888 Holdings plc

19 February 2019

19 February 2019

888 Holdings Plc

("888" or the "Group")

888 acquires Costa Bingo

   --      888 acquires a portfolio of successful Bingo brands, including Costa Bingo. 

-- The acquisition further strengthens 888's position in the UK online bingo market and enables the Group to take full marketing control of a number of additional bingo brands.

888, one of the world's leading online gaming entertainment and solutions providers, announces the signing of an agreement by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Brigend Limited, for the acquisition of certain assets of Jet Management Group Limited and Jet Media Limited (together, "Jet") for consideration of GBP18 million (the "Transaction"). Jet is part of the group of companies headed by JPJ Group plc, which owns the Jackpotjoy brands.

Background to the Transaction

Consolidating its position as one of the leading bingo operators in the UK, 888 has acquired a portfolio of Jet's online bingo brands, which previously operated as business-to-business ('B2B') brands on 888's Dragonfish Bingo Platform. Going forward, 888 will operate these on a business-to-customer ("B2C") basis.

Jet has been a partner of Dragonfish, the Group's B2B Bingo division, since 2009 with brands including Costa Bingo, City Bingo and Sing Bingo. The acquisition will give the Group full control of these successful brands from a marketing perspective to support and further strengthen the Group's position in the UK online bingo market.

Itai Pazner, Chief Executive Officer of 888 commented:

"The Group continues to deliver its stated strategy of expanding across global regulated markets. This expansion is underpinned by organic growth initiatives supported by exploring value-enhancing M&A."

"We are pleased to announce the acquisition of this portfolio of brands which includes the well-established Costa Bingo. Having been developed on Dragonfish, the Group's first-class B2B platform, we are confident that consolidating these brands into our existing B2C portfolio will deliver synergies and growth opportunities by applying the full extent of 888's core capabilities in product, marketing and customer relationship management to their operations."

Details of the Transaction

The consideration of GBP18 million will be satisfied all in cash, with GBP12 million being paid to Jet upon closing of the acquisition and the remainder of GBP6 million to be paid in September 2019.

Transaction Classification

The Transaction constitutes a class 2 transaction for the purposes of the Financial Conduct Authority's Listing Rules ("LR"). For the purposes of LR 10.4.1 R (Notification of class 2 transactions), the value of the gross assets that are the subject of the Transaction is GBP18 million as at the date hereof, and the profit before tax attributable to the assets as sourced from unaudited management accounts provided to 888 by Jet is approximately GBP3.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2018.

Important Notices

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU 596/2014) and is issued on behalf of 888 by its Board of Directors. This announcement is issued at 7:00 am GMT on 19 February 2019. Upon publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements with respect to the operations, performance and financial condition of 888. By their nature, these statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied because they relate to future events.

Unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation, the LR, the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules or accounting standard, 888 does not undertake to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.

Nothing in this announcement constitutes or shall be deemed to constitute an offer or invitation to invest in otherwise deal in any shares or other securities of 888.

For more detailed information about 888, see the Investor Relations section of the 888 website: https://corporate.888.com/investor-relations.

 
 Enquiries and further information: 
 
  888 Holdings Plc 
 Itai Pazner, Chief Executive Officer      [phone] 
 Aviad Kobrine, Chief Financial Officer    [phone] 
 
 
 
                                           [phone] 
 Hudson Sandler (public relations)          4133 
 Alex Brennan                              [e-mail] 
  Hattie O'Reilly 
  Bertie Berger 
 

About 888 Holdings Plc:

-- 888 Holdings Plc is one of the world's leading online gaming entertainment and solutions providers. 888's mission is to supply its customers with innovative and market-leading online gaming products, above all in a safe and secure environment.

-- 888 has been at the forefront of the online gaming industry since its foundation in 1997, providing an innovative and world-class online gaming experience to players and B2B partners. At the heart of 888's business is its proprietary gaming technology and associated platforms.

   --     888 operates in three US states:  Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. 

-- The Group is structured into two lines of business: B2C, under the 888 brands, and B2B, conducted through Dragonfish, which provides partners a leading platform through which to establish an online gaming presence and monetise their own brands.

-- 888's consumer facing websites offer more than just online gaming. They are entertainment destinations: places where people can enjoy a truly interactive experience and be part of an online community that shares common interests. 888's strong and trusted brands are all accessible through www.888.com.

   --     Find out more about 888 at http://corporate.888.com/. 

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February 19, 2019 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)