Hydra Industries Acquisition Corp. inks acquisition agreement for gambling provider
A New York private equity company specialising in mergers and acquisitions, Hydra Industries Acquisition Corp., has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire UK online gambling provider Inspired Gaming Group for a consideration of GBP 200 million.
Based on the current USD/GBP exchange rate the equivalent transaction value is $264 million. Inspired's fiscal year end September 2016 Revenue and EBITDA are estimated to be $110 million and $38 million, respectively, with the potential to grow meaningfully, driven by a backlog of recurring revenue contracts.
The consideration paid to the sellers for their interests will consist of cash available at closing after transaction expenses, and Hydra common shares issued at a price of $10 per share. The sellers may receive additional common shares as further consideration, depending on future performance.
The cash component of the transaction will be funded by a $20 million private placement from Macquarie Capital in addition to Hydra's cash in trust, which is currently approximately $80 million.
Assuming none of Hydra's shares are redeemed for cash in trust, the sellers would retain 35 percent ownership at closing.
Certain liabilities of Inspired, including existing credit facilities, are expected to remain in place at closing.
Upon consummation of the transaction, Hydra's CEO (and former Scientific Games executive) Lorne Weil will become executive chairman while Inspired's founder and current CEO Luke Alvarez will continue in his leadership role in addition to being appointed to the board of directors.
In a statement announcing the deal, Weil commented:
"We have been searching for a compelling business that utilizes our skill set to drive growth. We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Luke and his team as we work together to grow the digital business through increased focus and the deployment of new technology and content.
"We look forward to not only growing Inspired's business, but also using it as a platform for potential opportunistic acquisitions of synergistic businesses across a number of geographies. We believe the combination of Inspired's management team and our experience in utilizing technology and content to drive revenue growth in gaming markets makes us well-positioned to enhance value for our shareholders."
Luke Alvarez added, "We are excited to be partnering with Lorne Weil and Hydra, while continuing our strong relationship with Vitruvian. Lorne's history in the gaming industry and Hydra's access to the public capital markets are the perfect combination to take Inspired to the next level. Our ambition with Inspired has always been to build a truly scaled and global leader in gaming technology, which we believe is transitioning rapidly to an all-digital environment."
The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Hydra and Inspired, and is expected to close in October 2016, subject to approval by Hydra's shareholders, required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Immediately after the closing, Hydra intends to change its name to Inspired Entertainment, Inc. and will continue to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker INSE.
Online Casino News Courtesy of Infopowa
