NEWS
27 October 2021
Kambi CEO: Future merger "not impossible" but organic growth pleasing right now
By Tim Poole

Although Nylén asserts any such deal would be out of the company's hands, he admits M&A of this kind is certainly a long-term possibility.

Kambi earlier today (27 October 2021) reported a 48% year-on-year increase in Q3 revenue, with CEO Nylén speaking to media after the earnings report was released.

When asked by Gambling Insider about the possibility of long-term M&A, especially considering the growing trend of operator-supplier deals, Nylén said a transaction of this kind is "not impossible."

The CEO explained: "Us being acquired is out of our hands. We have a convertible bond agreement with Kindred Group that would need to be resolved first.

"It's not impossible and could happen. But we're very comfortable growing organically, focusing on smaller acquisitions like that of Abios."

On the topic of Abios, an esports firm acquired by Kambi for an initial consideration of SEK 150m ($17.2m), Nylén is excited about the prospect of Kambi increasing its focus on esports betting.

Back in August, Kambi COO Erik Lögdberg said Abios was a "very good cultural fit" for the supplier.

When asked by Gambling Insider how much of the business' focus would move towards esports in the long term, Nylén chose to re-emphasise the benefits of not creating something completely new in-house.

"This was one of the main reasons behind the acquisition," he said.

"We wanted to put more time and focus on esports but there was no time within the existing organisation. Instead of doing this in-house, we thought it was better to acquire Abios."