9th Apr 2014 12:13
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK bookmaker Ladbrokes PLC said Wednesday that it has bought Australian online betting company Betstar, in a deal worth AUD22.0 million, to beef up its Australian business.
Ladbrokes has been spreading its wings overseas with recent expansions in Spain, new product launches in China and as well as this latest opportunity secured in Australia, as UK bookmakers face increasing tax pressure in the UK.
The UK government recently raised gaming machine duty to 25%. The tax hike will come into effect as of March next year.
Ladbrokes said the acquisition, which is equivalent to roughly GBP12.4 million in sterling terms, adds an existing and complementary client base, and accelerates the growth of its Australian business.
The deal is the company's second acquisition in Australia, having bought the operator of Australian gambling website Bookmaker.com.au last September for an initial AUD22.5 million, and the creation of Ladbrokes.com.au.
"It offers us a chance to improve our market share and bring the innovative product development and marketing skills displayed by Ladbrokes.com.au to a wider audience," said Damian Cope, Managing Director of International, in a statement.
Betstar has approximately 40,000 registered customers, and generates gross wins of around AUD12.9 million in the year to March 31, on AUD214 million amount stakes.
Ladbrokes said it will maintain the Betstar brand, and said that annualised costs synergies of around AUD5 million will be realised from the migration of Betstar?s operations to its digital platform.
It said the acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first year under its ownership.
Ladbrokes shares were up 2.1% Wednesday afternoon at 137.07 pence per share
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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