Kindred Group announced today it signed an agreement to buy the outstanding shares of online gaming supplier and third-party aggregator Relax Gaming.
Payments Spread over 3 Years
Kindred will pay initial cash consideration of €80 million ($95 million), out of a total value of €295 million ($350 million) for the outstanding 66.6% of shares, upon completion of the transaction which values Relax Gaming at €320 million ($380 million) on a cash and debt-free basis.
Subject to Relax Gaming reaching certain performance thresholds, earn-out payments of up to €113 million ($134 million) may become payable in 2022 and 2023 for the transaction that is set to be financed through existing cash at Kindred Group, as well as credit facilities.
“Through this acquisition we add a rapidly growing and profitable B2B business with a world-class product portfolio, giving us greater control over our casino, poker and bingo offering, putting Kindred in a significantly better position to achieve our long-term strategy to increase our focus on product differentiation and customer experience.”
Henrik Tjärnström, CEO, Kindred Group
Founded in 2010, Relax Gaming has been growing ever since to position itself as a leading B2B online casino game developer and operator of an open distribution game aggregation platform, proprietary poker and bingo products, and is currently boasting around 240 employees across its 4 main hubs, Malta, Estonia, Sweden and Serbia.
“Joining Kindred Group comes as a natural next step in our long-standing cooperation with Kindred across all our product verticals. Kindred’s strengthened presence will allow Relax Gaming to further invest in and accelerate the expansion of our B2B offering across the globe.”
Patrik Österåker, Co-Founder and Chairman, Board of Directors, Relax Gaming
Remain as Separate Business Entity
Being Kindred’s supplier of poker, bingo, and online casino content on an exclusive basis, the acquisition of Relax Gaming is expected to generate synergies of €8 million ($9.5 million) in the space of 3 years following completion of the transaction, due to lower investment needs and reduced costs of sales.
“We will continue the Relax Gaming journey as a separate B2B entity with the unchanged product portfolio and overall strategy, staying true to our values and respecting the hard-earned trust of our customers. Our continued independence is a key element of the transaction, and I am happy to remain on the board of Relax Gaming.”
Patrik Österåker, Co-Founder and Chairman, Board of Directors, Relax Gaming
Conditional to customary regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in Q4 2021, and in conjunction with its completion, existing employee share options will be exercised while the remaining Relax Gaming management team will retain 7% ownership.
Kindred is set to keep Relax Gaming as an independent entity within the business group, with its own Board of Directors and management team, while investments in the game developer will continue to affirm its leading gaming supplier position by boosting products and broadening its customer base.