Betsson planning to issue SEK bond for further acquisitions

Stockholm-listed European sports betting operator Betsson AB has detailed it has enlisted Nordic Investment banks’ DNB Markets in Norway and Swedbank in Sweden to arrange fixed income investor meetings from 14 November 2016.

The undisclosed bond sum will be an unsecured 3 year issue, used to fund Betsson’s acquisition strategy, refinancing debt and for general corporate purposes.

Betsson CEO and President, Ulrik Bengtsson, comments: “Betsson has a clear acquisition strategy and we constantly review opportunities that could materialise in the short or medium-term. The planned bond issue creates increased financial flexibility for Betsson to continue to be active in the consolidation of the gaming sector.”

Betsson’s bond will be in line with their current strategy of growth through acquisitions in regulated markets. One recent acquisition was Tonybet’s Lithuanian sports betting product, Lošimų Strateginė Grupė, completed September 2016, for €4 million.

At the time of the acquisition Bengtsson commented: “Betsson’s ambition is to increase revenue from locally regulated markets. We have now consolidated our presence in the Baltic region by ensuring local licenses in all three markets, and continue to pursue growth across Europe, organically and through acquisition.”

This comes a few weeks after the operator announced its third quarter results. Reporting a 9% climb in net revenue over the same period in 2015, rising to SEK1.06bn.