Sport is made for betting

This news is a few days old now but with Blogger down for a couple of days last week, I couldn't post it... Betsson acquires Betsafe in €60m deal B etsson has acquired fellow Nordic operator Betsafe in a deal valuing the company at up to €60m (£52.2m). “This deal will fuel our growth,” said Betsson chief executive Pontus Lindwall (pictured). “We strengthen our position in the Nordic region as well as our organisation when merging two profitable companies, each of which has proven its ability to gain market share in a highly competitive market environment.” Betsson will pay an initial €32.5m in cash and shares for the privately owned operator, with a further €27.5m payable conditional on “the development of the acquisition and the integration thereof during 2011,” said the Stockholm-listed company in a statement this morning. The full additional purchase price becoming payable would equate to a multiple of approximately 5-6 times Betsafe's EBIT for 2011. Interesting m...

Ladbrokes have joined the list of UK firms avoiding setting up in France under the current unviable licensing structure. Several firms have simply decided not to waste their time and money in a market which will deliver nothing for several years, and only if/after the French government water down the current prohibitive licensing and taxation structure. The last straw for Ladbrokes was when the French govt decided on top of extortionate turnover tax and sports rights levies, they would also have to pay VAT as well. Unibet however, who have a similar model to Bwin, of taking vast numbers of low-stake bets, are pressing on. The Betfair IPO is off to a good start. Conditional trading has the shares trading at around £15.30, after the initial valuation of £13. Tomorrow is the acid test for them though, when they become available to the public. Betsson is going from strength to strength as live betting pushes their revenues higher. Bwin, Hills and Sportingbet have released similarly h...