Tag: Baltics

Entain has increased its offer to acquire Enlabs by 32.5%, from SEK 40 per share to SEK 53 per share. The increased offer price is final and will not be increased by Entain.

Rob Wood, CFO and deputy CEO of Entain, said: “As a world leader in sports betting and gaming entertainment, Entain’s ambition is to revolutionise betting and gaming to create the most exciting and trusted entertainment for every customer.

In a highly competitive and regulated industry, where consolidation is a key theme, Entain is able to provide the scale and platform needed to further support Enlabs’ long-term growth, and we firmly believe that Entain will be the best home for Enlabs, its employees and customers. Against this background, we have decided to make a final offer of SEK 53 to all shareholders, providing an opportunity to exit their investment at a very attractive valuation.

We are pleased that shareholders with around 51 per cent have now irrevocably agreed to accept the offer and would urge other shareholders to do the same by 18 March.”

Lithuania’s regulated gambling market saw revenue decline in 2020, despite a 47.1% jump in online gaming revenue mitigating much of the country’s land-based struggles.

Total revenue across all verticals and channels declined 8.1% year-on-year to €103.5m, with the online advances accompanied by a 39.1% drop in land-based revenue to €43.9m.

With customers confined to their homes between March and May as a result of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, igaming participating grew sharply. Total customer spends surpassed $1bn, a 64.3% year-on-year increase, while total revenue grew to €59.6m.

Category A slots were the primary source of online revenue, after the product’s total almost doubled year-on-year to €29.4m.

Despite major sporting events being suspended between March and mid-May as a result of Covid-19, sports betting contributed the second-largest share of any vertical. Betting revenue was up 10.5% to €26.5m, on stakes of €444.1m, a 5.2% improvement on 2019.

Online table game revenue soared, albeit from a low base, to €1.9m, while revenue from Category B slots was up 47.4% to €1.2m.

After Covid-19 pandemic forced in-person facilities to shut their doors from 16 March to 17 May, Lithuania’s land-based market struggled, however.

Customer stakes across all products fell 39.5% below the prior year’s total, to €288.6m.

Category B slots – which limit stakes to €0.50 per spin and have win amounts capped at 200 times the original stake – made up the majority of revenue for the year, at €20.3m, down 37.9%

Table games followed, though again revenue fell, to €10.2m. Category A slot revenue – with uncapped stakes and winnings – dropped 36.1% to €7.8m.

Retail sports betting’s contribution, meanwhile was almost halved, to €5.7m. Not only did the sector face the Covid-19 shutdown, but also saw most major sporting events suspended as a result of the pandemic.

The country’s national lottery Olifėja also reported a year-on-year decline in revenue for 2020. Ticket sales fell 6.7% to €106.3m, and after payouts to players, this left revenue of €46.9m, down 5.9%.

Online gambling operator Entain has put forward an offer worth €276.4m to acquire Enlabs.

The cash offer, which would see Entain pay SEK40 for each Enlabs share, has been recommended by the Enlabs board, while shareholders holding 42.2% of the total Enlabs shares have also undertaken to accept the offer.

Entain said the acquisition of Enlabs is directly aligned with its growth strategy of entering locally regulated markets where it does not yet have a presence.

Should the acquisition go ahead, Entain said that it would retain the services of current Enlabs board chairman Niklas Braathen, in order to help to develop the group’s operations in the region and its expansion into new markets.

Subject to regulatory approvals and Enlabs shareholders accepting the offer, the transaction is expected to complete before the end of the first quarter.

“The acquisition of Enlabs is perfectly aligned with our strategy of expanding across new regulated international markets. We are hugely excited by the growth opportunities it presents both in its existing markets and through new market opportunities,” Shay Segev, chief executive of Entain, said.

“Enlabs is already a strong and rapidly growing business in its own right, but we now have a fantastic opportunity to turbocharge its growth by leveraging the power of our unparalleled proprietary technology, scale, product and marketing expertise,” Shay Segev added.

Enlabs’ Braathen said: “When Entain’s interest to acquire Enlabs emerged, we instantly saw the strategic logic.

“Entain’s experience and track record in many different geographic markets, together with its market-leading proprietary technology and world-class marketing skills are key attractions for Enlabs as we look to grow in the Baltics and beyond.”