立石为Bettertainment GmbH的股东向Betsson AB出售德国领先的在线赛马博彩运营商RaceBets International Gaming Ltd提供咨询

Livingstone’s Consumer sector team has advised the shareholders of Bettertainment GmbH during the negotiations on the sale of their investment in Malta-based RaceBets International Gaming Ltd. to Betsson AB. Betsson has acquired RaceBets from the company’s founders and the German Thoroughbred Racing Association. The initial consideration for the business is €34m, payable in cash, a multiple of 10.1x EBIT. A further consideration €6m is to be paid, subject to certain financial and non-financial milestones being achieved.

RaceBets was founded in 2005. By 2007, it had become the leading horse racing bookmaker in Germany and today operates a leading online horsebetting platform with the broadest offering of horse races worldwide. Betsson AB, a Nasdaq Stockholm listed company, has more than 50 years’ experience in the gaming industry. It was founded 1963 in by Bill Lindwall and Rolf Lundstrom. The company’s core business now consists of investing and administering shareholdings in companies offering games to end users via the Internet. The Group offers Casino, Sportsbook, Poker, Scratchcards, Bingo and other games. Customers are primarily from the Nordic countries and other parts of Europe.

For the European horse betting market, which is estimated to have annual revenues of €3.5bn, RaceBets offers a highly competitive product where customers can bet on more than 250,000 different races annually. Approximately 75% of RaceBets’ revenue comes from locally regulated markets, primarily Germany and the UK, making it a good strategic fit for Betsson.

Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO and President of Betsson AB said: “Horse racing is important in many of our markets and the key rationale for the acquisition of RaceBets is to enable our subsidiaries to accelerate the launch of a world class horse racing product on all core brands. This will help fuel organic growth in strategic markets such as the UK and Germany.”

Ralph Hagelgans, Partner at Livingstone, commented: “We have known the management of RaceBets since the sale of 40% of their shares to the German Thoroughbred Racing Association. We are pleased that we were able to support the RaceBets team during the negotiations and wish them success in the future under Betsson’s ownership.”

Patrick Byrne, Managing Director of RaceBets, added: “The Livingstone team has worked with us for many years and therefore knows our company very well. It was important for me to have them on board as trusted advisors in this important step for us as shareholders and the company.”