Rome-based Gamenet are already one of Italy’s largest gambling companies with revenue rising 15.2% during 2017, totalling €619m ($724m) for the year.
However, the new acquisition of 100% of GoldBet’s share capital will see Gamenet’s sports betting network become Italy’s largest, as well as reaching over 1,700 points of sale.
GoldBet currently has a network of 990 betting shops, in addition to operating an online sports book and casino games site. These different segments saw GoldBet’s net income reach €23m ($26.9m) in 2017, and offer Gamenet a chance to diversify its product portfolio and profitability.
Gamenet has predicted that within the first six months of the acquisitions completion they will have an overall Italian market share of around 18%, including 7% of online betting, and 33% of virtual betting.
Guglielmo Angelozzi, Gamenet Group CEO, said: “After the acquisition of the Italian assets of Intralot Group in 2016, which allowed us to assume a leading position in the Italian gaming sector, particularly in the sports betting sector in which the Group now has the largest sports betting network in the country, to acquire a significant presence in the online segment, to further diversify the business mix and to significantly improve profitability.”
The first €240m of the acquisition will be paid for in cash by the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2018, with the remaining €25m to be paid as deferred price components over a medium-term period.
