NeoGames has concluded its acquisition of Aspire Global as the firm delivers on its aims to advance its status in the ilottery market.
Completion of the takeover was announced on Thursday, five months after news emerged of NeoGames’ “transformational” €410m offer.
The move had inched closer earlier this week after Aspire applied for the delisting of its shares from the Nasdaq First North Premier.
Now it has been confirmed that 99.31% of shares in Aspire have been tendered, and the expected settlement date for shares tendered during the extension of the acceptance period is ‘on or around’ June 30.
The remaining shares will be subjected to a ‘squeeze-out’ proceeding which has been earmarked ‘on or around’ August 11.
Moti Malul, CEO of NeoGames, commented: “We are thrilled to complete this strategic transaction with the Aspire Global team, and to commence working on identifying potential opportunities to capitalise on the merger of our platforms.
“With this transaction, we are combining our two companies with a goal to create a leading global provider in interactive content, proprietary technology as well as gaming operations, tapping into a potential total addressable market of $74bn, according to H2 Gambling Capital, which is estimated across all elements of ilottery, online sports betting and igaming verticals for 2021.”
NeoGames funded the offer through a combination of newly issued shares and cash. Approximately 7.6m shares (in the form of Swedish depository receipts) will be issued to Aspire shareholders as payment of the equity component of the offer.
Meanwhile, NeoGames is paying approximately €251.4m in cash, partially funded by a €187.7m loan after the company obtained fully committed debt financing from funds and accounts managed, advised or sub-advised by Blackstone Alternative Credit Advisors LP and/or its affiliates.
The term loan, along with a €13.1m overfund facility, has a six-year maturity.
“We believe this strategic combination will generate long-term shareholder value by synergistically capitalising on the key strengths of our two companies and will help position NeoGames for expansion in new and existing markets,” added Malul.
“By integrating our market-leading platform and scalable position within the rapidly expanding global ilottery market, with Aspire Global’s proprietary sports betting platform, BtoBet; its igaming content and aggregation platform, Pariplay; and its proprietary content and turn-key B2B gaming solutions, NeoGames is well positioned to increase our addressable market opportunities, and further expand our services to our North American customers.”
Malul is set to continue in his role as CEO following the acquisition of Aspire, while Raviv Adler will operate as Chief Financial Officer.
Tsachi Maimon, CEO of Aspire Global, has joined NeoGames as President and will lead the newly forming igaming division.
“We at Aspire Global are extremely excited to join the NeoGames team to execute on our mutual goals following the completion of this transaction,” said Maimon.
“We view this transaction as the natural next step for our company, as we further enhance our scale and competitive position across all business lines.
“We believe both companies are well positioned to mutually grow our two platforms and execute on our strategic initiatives. Not only is this a strategic fit, it is also a strong cultural fit, as significant parts of both management teams worked together extensively during NeoGames’ inception.”
