888 Holdings buys out rest of US joint venture
By Josh White
Date: Tuesday 11 Dec 2018
(Sharecast News) - Gaming operator 888 Holdings announced the signing of an agreement by its wholly-owned subsidiaries, 888 US and 888 US Holdings, for the acquisition of the remaining 53% interest in AAPN Holdings that 888 US did not already own.
The FTSE 250 company was buying the share from its joint venture partner Avenue OLG Entertainment and other minority shareholders of AAPN, for consideration of $28m.
It explained that the AAPN joint venture was established between Avenue and 888 in March 2013, to launch 888's consumer-facing brands in the regulated online gaming market in the United States.
Since November 2013, the 888poker and 888casino brands had been operating in New Jersey.
The board said the transaction would give 888 independent control of its growth strategy in the US moving forward.
That strategy would include signing new partnerships, and continuing to deploy its proprietary products and technology - both B2B and consumer-facing - in new states as they regulated.
Over recent months, 888 had also further strengthened its position in the US by launching 888sport in New Jersey in September, alongside its established poker and casino brands, marking the first time that the company had offered sports betting in the United States, and paving the way for it to launch 888sport in additional states as future regulation allowed.
It also signed a "landmark" sponsorship agreement with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL), which was apparently the first such agreement between an NFL team and a pure-play online gaming operator.
"The acquisition of the remaining stake in AAPN is an important strategic step towards 888 achieving its exciting long-term potential in the US," said 888 Holdings chief executive Itai Frieberger.
"Taking outright ownership of AAPN gives 888 additional operational, technological and commercial flexibility to develop innovative and exciting new partnerships and launch in new states - through both B2B and B2C channels - as and when future regulation allows."
Freiberger said the acquisition would place 888 in an "even better position" to take advantage of significant growth opportunities in the US, and create additional value for shareholders.
"The AAPN joint venture has been a very successful endeavour for the group.
"It has afforded us the flexibility and financial capability to build a position in the regulated US market over the last five years whilst also investing in other global regulated markets.
"I would like to thank Avenue Capital for being fantastic partners in this venture since 2013."
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