NYX pulls off £270m acquisition of rival OpenBet

NYX Gaming Group has managed to come to an agreement with OpenBet and confirmed it will be taking over the company for $270 million; the betting technology outfit is currently owned by the hedge funders Vitruvian Partners LLP. The deal wouldn’t have been made without the help from William Hill and Sky Betting.

William Hill, a leading UK bookmaker, partially funded the deal with a contribution of £80 million. The company also revealed that it would acquire an additional stake in NYX worth $10 million alongside striking a 10-year deal with the provider to further improve William Hill’s gaming, betting and retail platforms. Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G), on the other hand, provided a much smaller portion of £20 million. It has to be pointed out that Hill’s involvement was revealed in February and it hardly surprised anyone; however, the Leeds-based betting operator’s share certainly raised some eyebrows.

This latest investment upgrades the bookmaker’s stake in NYX to 19%, whereas SB&G controls only 5%. However, since both firms are OpenBet’s clients, they won’t be given board of directors’ seats. According to Matt Davey, NYX CEO, this would guarantee OpenBet’s independence on the long run.

Once NYX officially purchases OpenBet, the provider will be able to offer a complete online gambling solution to its clients; currently, it only features poker and casino products. The provider expects to generate revenue synergies between C$8 million and C$10 million.

As one entity is welcomed to the team, another was announced to leave it; namely, NYX revealed that it will be selling the European portion of the Ongame poker business to an experienced company in the industry. Nonetheless, NYX will retain exclusive rights to use the Ongame brand in North America.