Aquisitions/Mergers
Banijay Group Reinforces Leadership in Sports Betting and Online Gaming with the Acquisition of a Majority Stake in Tipico Group
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Banijay Group, the Entertainment powerhouse, has signed a binding agreement with CVC and Tipico’s founders to combine Betclic and Tipico groups, becoming the majority shareholder of the combined entity, and creating a European champion in sports betting and online gaming. Banijay Group will buy the major stake of CVC in Tipico in cash, and all shareholders of Betclic and Tipico, including the respective founders, will become shareholders of the combined entity.
With the addition of Tipico Group, leader in sports betting and online gaming in Germany and Austria, Banijay Group would bring, on a pro forma basis, its revenue to €6.4bn and its adjusted EBITDA to €1.4bn in 2024.
Banijay Group’s gaming activity – Banijay Gaming – which would double in revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash-flow and regroup three strong brands: Betclic, Tipico and Admiral – generated €3.0bn in revenues, €854m in Adjusted EBITDA and €716m in Adjusted free cash flow in 2024, on a pro forma basis. Together, they serve almost 6.5m unique active players annually, operate more than 1250 betting shops in Germany and Austria and employ 5300 employees.
Betclic and Tipico are two complementary local champions with leading positions in six highly attractive and fully regulated markets (Germany, France, Portugal, Austria, Poland and Côte d’Ivoire) thanks to strong tech and product expertise, joining forces to become the fourth largest European sports betting and gaming player and the leader of sports betting in Continental Europe.
Combining Betclic’s recognised digital expertise with Tipico’s omnichannel offer would broaden the Group’s capabilities across all distribution channels, strengthening its strategic positioning and enabling a seamless and differentiated customer experience.
Through this transaction, Banijay Gaming would bring together two leading operators of similar scale with shared values, backed by highly experienced management teams. In the current deal, the Enterprise values agreed by the parties for Betclic and Tipico groups amount to €4.8bn and €4.6bn respectively.
Banijay Group will be the controlling shareholder with 65% of the capital at closing, aiming to reach a minimum of 72% in the target structure through call options agreed on the shares held by CVC and the managers of Tipico. The founders of both Betclic and Tipico will remain long-term shareholders in Banijay Gaming alongside Banijay Group, resulting from their full roll-out into Banijay Gaming, reflecting a long-term partnership and full alignment on future value creation.
As of January 1 2026, Nicolas Béraud, Betclic CEO, will become Chairman of the Board of Banijay Gaming, while Lov Group Invest will continue as President. Julien Brun, currently COO of Betclic, will succeed Nicolas Béraud as Betclic CEO. After completion of the transaction, Joachim Baca, Chairman and former CEO of Tipico, will become Vice-Chairman of the Board of Banijay Gaming, while Axel Hefer, CEO of Tipico, will remain in his current role.
The transaction will be fully backed by a certain funds financing package for a principal amount equal to approximately €3bn, including the refinancing of Tipico Group’s existing debt, underwritten by certain of Betclic’s main financing partners. Banijay Group’s post-transaction leverage is expected at 3.5x, with a reduction below 2.5x within three years after closing, driven by strong cash-flow generation supporting both deleveraging and increasing stake into Banijay Gaming (72% ownership minimum in the target structure). Excluding the exercise of call options, deleveraging is expected to be around 0.5x per year.
Completion of the transaction is expected in mid-2026, following satisfaction of customary conditions precedent, in particular merger control and gambling regulatory approvals.
The post Banijay Group Reinforces Leadership in Sports Betting and Online Gaming with the Acquisition of a Majority Stake in Tipico Group appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Aquisitions/Mergers
Merkur Group Strengthens its Market Presence in Spain
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Merkur Slots Spain has completed the acquisition of a total of eleven arcades operated by arcade operator Operjoku S.L.U. in the Basque Country. In addition, the subsidiary of Merkur Group, headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, will take over the operation of gaming machines in 108 bars previously serviced by Operkale S.L.U., a specialist in the placement of gaming machines in gastronomy in the autonomous region of northern Spain. Implemented in cooperation with the Spanish distributor Merkur Dosniha, the acquisition marks a significant milestone in the expansion of the company’s brand presence, representing its first entry into Spain’s highly profitable hospitality installation segment.
With this step, the East Westphalian corporate group continues its international growth trajectory. Meik Sellenriek, Management Board Member, Merkur Operations at Merkur.com AG, welcomed the development: “Spain is a market of great importance and long-term potential for the Merkur Group. This acquisition clearly underlines that. We are proud to welcome around 50 new employees to the company and look forward with confidence to strengthening our market position.”
Dominik Raasch, Management Board Member, Merkur Games at Merkur.com AG, said: “There are strong synergies between the Merkur Group’s business divisions. The successful acquisition of Operjoku and Operkale demonstrates how effectively we leverage these synergies to support our sustainable growth. We are particularly pleased to now offer our innovative gaming machines and games in our own arcades and bars in the Basque Country – one of Spain’s most economically powerful regions.”
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Aquisitions/Mergers
Nederlandse Loterij Acquires Lotify
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The Dutch Lottery (Nederlandse Loterij) has completed the full acquisition of Lotify. Lotify supports sports associations, sports clubs, charities, events and businesses in organising fundraising lotteries and competitions. With this acquisition, the Dutch Lottery strengthens its position as an innovative and responsible gambling provider.
Since 2021, the Dutch Lottery has held a majority stake in Lotify. The platform offers a comprehensive solution for organising lotteries and competitions that comply with all legal requirements: from permits and technology to participant communication, draws and payouts.
Arjan Blok, CEO of the Dutch Lottery, said: “The Dutch Lottery has almost 300 years of experience organizing fun and responsible games of chance. As a fully integrated part of the Dutch Lottery, Lotify can leverage our knowledge, network, and impact even more effectively. This allows us to support even more sports federations, clubs, and charities. Especially in these times, they are looking for new ways to raise funds.”
Guy van Iperen, founder of Lotify, said: “After four years of intensive collaboration, the time has come to transfer Lotify to the Dutch Lottery. This is in line with the agreements we made in 2021, when the Dutch Lottery acquired a majority stake. I look back with pride on what we have built together and am confident that the platform will continue to grow under this new owner. This way, Lotify can help even more organizations generate additional funding.”
The post Nederlandse Loterij Acquires Lotify appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Andrew Brown CEO Goma Gaming
EveryMatrix acquires Goma Gaming to boost front-end development firepower
Reading Time: 2 minutes
EveryMatrix has acquired UX specialist Goma Gaming to boost the Group’s front-end development firepower.
Specialising in delivering innovative front-end solutions for the betting industry, the Goma Gaming team bring 20 years consumer product design and digital UX experience.
The acquisition will instantly enhance EveryMatrix’s existing front-end capabilities with experience from both sports betting and casino projects that have included delivering bespoke solutions for tier-1 brands.
The Goma team will continue to operate as a standalone unit, side-by-side with the existing EveryMatrix front-end division.
Its capacity will be upscaled to provide additional bandwidth and capabilities to the Group’s sports and casino products with the objective of delivering superior customer experience and even more alternatives for EveryMatrix clients.
Goma Gaming’s UX player experience platform has delivered strong results for tier-1 operators, generating higher retention and longer engagement with an average 30% margin uplift, while adding enhanced functionality for next generation players.
Ebbe Groes, Group CEO & Co-founder EveryMatrix, said: “Our front-end development has made huge strides, creating bespoke sites and features for some of our largest customers such as Bet-at-home and the Hungarian Lottery.
“The addition of Goma means we will immediately have more front-end firepower to deploy and deliver to both existing and new sports and casino turnkey customers who require differentiation that moves the dial when it comes to higher retention, engagement, margin and revenues.”
“I’d like to welcome Andrew and his team and look forward to having them with us to further accelerate our rapid business growth.”
Andrew Brown, CEO, Goma Gaming, said: “We’ve made great progress developing Goma in the last five years, but joining the EveryMatrix Group now means we have greater resources to rapidly scale our capacity whenever it’s needed and to make an even bigger impact.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way and enabled us to get us to this stage. We can’t wait for the next phase of our journey as part of EveryMatrix.”
The post EveryMatrix acquires Goma Gaming to boost front-end development firepower appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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