Gambling firm Playtech seeks to buy Italian firm for $1.05 billion

Playtech Plc, the British gambling technology company owned by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, has offered to buy Italian betting and gaming firm Snaitech SPA for a total of €846 million (some $1.05 billion) in cash and debt in two stages.

The company said it has reached an agreement with certain shareholders of Snaitech to buy some 70.6 percent of the company. Upon completion of that acquisition, the UK firm will be required to make a mandatory offer for the remaining shares in the Italian firm.

Completion of the initial stage of the acquisition is expected to occur in the third quarter of the year, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, and the overall transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year, Playtech said in a statement.

Playtech said that the acquisition creates a “leading vertically integrated retail and online Italian gaming business that will control its own technology across all products and verticals” and is part of the UK company’s strategy to invest in cash generative businesses. The deal will help Playtech establish a strong presence in Italy, which is “Europe’s largest and growing gaming market” and a fragmented one which is relatively underdeveloped online.

In 2017, Snaitech generated revenue of €890 million, Playtech said.

The acquisition of the stake will also significantly increase the revenue mix of in Playtech, with 78% of revenue for the joint group coming from regulated markets, the statement said.