Ballys Corporation and Gamesys have agreed on terms of a merger between the two businesses, where Gamesys is aquired for a total of £2bn.
The deal has Ballys pay £18.5 in cash for each Gamesys share, which represents a premium of 14.4% of the operators closing share price of 1.642 pence per share on 23rd of March when the the announcement of the talks was made. The initial proposal from Ballys came in on the 25th of January, at which point Gamsys’ closing share price was at 1.330 pence, making it a 41.2% premium.
“We believe that this combination will mark a transformational step in our journey to become a leading integrated, omni-channel gaming company with a B2B2C business,” Bally’s chairman Soo Kim expressed. “We think that Gamesys’ proven technology platform alongside its highly respected and experienced management team, combined with the US market access that Bally’s provides, should allow the combined group to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities in the US sports betting and online markets.
“We are truly excited about the opportunities that this combination would offer and the enhanced and comprehensive experience and product offering that it would enable us to offer our customers.”
Lee Fenton, currently chief executive at Gamesys, will become group CEO when the deal is done. He added:
”After more than two decades honing our craft in online gaming, this combination would give all at Gamesys an opportunity to fully leverage the technology, product and know-how we have developed in what will become the largest regulated online gambling market in the world.
“I believe the highly complementary nature of our companies and the common history of being highly cash generative will leave us uniquely positioned for success.”
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