NeoGames completes Aspire Global acquisition

New York-listed lottery and gaming supplier NeoGames has completed its acquisition of Aspire Global, which was first announced in January.

The transaction has been funded through a combination of newly issued NeoGames shares and approximately $264m in cash, having secured an approximate $198m six-year term loan from funds associated with Blackstone Alternative Credit Advisors to partially fund the cash portion of the offer.

The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings.

The combined company will be led by NeoGames’ Moti Malul, who continues as chief executive officer, with Aspire Global chief executive Tsachi Maimon assuming the role of president of NeoGames with leadership responsibility for the newly formed iGaming division.

“We are thrilled to complete this strategic transaction with the Aspire Global team, and to commence working on identifying potential opportunities to capitalize on the merger of our platforms,” said chief executive Malul. 

The combined company aims to be a leading global provider of interactive content, proprietary technology and gaming operations with a potential total addressable market of $74bn across online lottery, sports betting and gaming in 2021.

“By integrating our market-leading platform and scalable position within the rapidly expanding global iLottery market, with Aspire Global’s proprietary sports betting platform, BtoBet; its iGaming content and aggregation platform, Pariplay; and its proprietary content and turn-key B2B Gaming solutions, NeoGames is well positioned to increase our addressable market opportunities, and further expand our services to our North American customers," said Malul.

Newly appointed NeoGames president Tsachi Maimon said: “We at Aspire Global are extremely excited to join the NeoGames team to execute on our mutual goals following the completion of this transaction. We view this transaction as the natural next step for our company, as we further enhance our scale and competitive position across all business lines. 

“We believe both companies are well positioned to mutually grow our two platforms and execute on our strategic initiatives. Not only is this a strategic fit, it is also a strong cultural fit, as significant parts of both management teams worked together extensively during NeoGames’ inception.”

Aspire Global has applied for the delisting of its shares in Stockholm. Shares in NeoGames SA (NSQ:NGMS) closed 5.92 per cent lower at $13.35 per share in New York Thursday, prior to this announcement.