SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Aspire Global has announced a €20m cash agreement to acquire all shares of sportsbook and tech provider BtoBet, €15m of which is payable upon closing and a further €5m owed in 12 months time.
Lauding the purchase as representing a “key part of Aspire Global’s growth strategy”, it represents the latest step in the group’s aim of covering “the main elements of the B2B igaming value chain” following last year’s €13.1m Pariplay transaction.
Alessandro Fried, founder and shareholder of BtoBet, said of the deal: “I am truly enthusiastic by the opportunities we see by becoming part of Aspire Global, the powerhouse for igaming operators.
“With our joined forces we will take this new global igaming offering in every corner of the earth. We have been in the industry for a long period of time and finally we met the perfect partner that matches our vision and with which we can build a stronger presence globally.”
The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of the year and will have a material positive effect on Aspire Global’s EBITDA as of 2021. The acquisition is not expected to have any effect on the financial results in 2020.
In 2019, BtoBet had revenues of €4.4m and an EBITDA of €1.5m, and in the first six months of 2020 the firm recorded €3.1m in revenue and EBITDA of €1.2m.
Tsachi Maimon, CEO of Aspire Global, explained: “Aspire Global now enters the sports betting arena with storm strength. With the acquisition of BtoBet we have become a true global B2B company which owns and provides an igaming platform, sports betting, casino games and games aggregator as well as managed services for all continents and markets. Aspire Global can now compete for any deal, big or small, that exists out there.”
Adding: “This is a perfect match. We are impressed by the qualities of the Neuron Sports platform and in addition we will get access to new growth markets, new potential big deals and new opportunities.”
BtoBet, headquartered in Gibraltar and including almost 100 employees, has 32 operators on its platform in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
