SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Cherry AB has announced the acquisition of the first 49% of shares in ComeOn Malta Ltd, strengthening its market position in Scandinavia with brands including ComeOn, Mobilbet, Folkeautomaten and Casinostugan. The company also has the option to acquire the remaining 51%.
The acquisition, which is expected to have an immediate positive effect on Cherry’s profit, included payment with 2,901,475 B-shares and €39.7 million cash, for a total of €80 million. The issue of shares has been directed to the sellers of ComeOn and represents a 16.8% dilution in Cherry.
The final purchase price was based upon ComeOn’s preliminary sales of around €48 million and EBIT for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2016, which amounted to approximately €10 million. This financial performance is in line with the group’s expected operating profit for 2016 of €19-23 million.
Fredrik Burvall, CEO of Cherry, said: “Now we have completed the acquisition of the first 49 percent of ComeOn, we will, together with ComeOn, initiate the work of maximizing our common values and customer offerings with the goal to strengthen our common operation. It is important that we and ComeOn clearly schedule the process so that when the final integration takes place it will be both swift and efficient.”
The cash part is to be financed with an expansion of the corporate bond, and the price for the new share issue will be calculated during the fifteen trading days following Cherry’s announcement to acquire the remaining 51%. This option can be exercised during the period of October 1 to December 31, 2016, with a maximum total consideration of €280 on a debt-free basis.
