Kindred Group today announced an agreement to acquire 66.6% of the outstanding shares in supplier Relax Gaming.
The transaction values the company at up to €320m ($378.9m) on a cash and debt-free basis, and a total value of the outstanding shares of approximately €295m.
CPO of Relax Gaming, Simon Hammon, spoke exclusively to Gambling Insider to share a more in-depth explanation on the deal.
Does this merger mean everything Relax does will now be exclusively launched on Kindred online casinos first, or will there still be exclusive launches with other operators?
This is definitely not the case. Relax will continue to drive its network content for broad network release as it has done and will continue to do so. Relax facilitates and will continue to facilitate for both Kindred and its network partners exclusive releases, as and when needed/desired by both our own productions and third-party partners.
Kindred boasts a lot of Nordic online casino brands – will Relax now create more games with Nordic characters, to speak to that audience?
Relax has many customers that operate in these markets and is not necessarily tied in this area. We aim to make games with broad appeal and reach, and are not locked into theme direction in this nature. Our goal is to become a global player and naturally that means territorial expansion and appeal.
How long was this deal in the making?
As with any deal there is a process of both learning and understanding and necessary requirements. No deal happens overnight of course but given the history and synergy of the companies we have of course tried to optimise.
In a GI Huddle exclusive, Hammon recently joined Gambling Insider to discuss the supplier’s new Apex product. You can watch the video in full here:
