Danish Expansion for Sportingbet

Online gambling company boosts Danish presence through key acquisitions With the recent opening of the Danish online gambling market in mind, online sports betting and gaming group Sportingbet Plc has made a move towards becoming one of the biggest players in the country by acquiring Danish online betting operations SHL, Danbook Limited (Danbook) and ISCI, Scandic Bookmakers Limited (Scandic) through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Sportingbet Holdings Limited and Interactive Sports (C.I.) Limited. The two Danish-facing companies, that offer online fixed odds sports betting, casino, poker and games, will be acquired for an aggregate maximum consideration of GBP 8.5 million - GBP 4 million in cash and GBP 0.5 million in Sportingbet shares payable immediately on closing. It has been specified that another GBP 4 million cash should be paid across both transactions following the successful migration of Danbook and Scandic onto the Sportingbet platform. If all the conditions are fulfilled, and both Danbook and Scandic get the new Danish gambling license, the deal should be closed in early 2012. This will be a good opportunity for Sportingbet to benefit from the new regulatory framework in Denmark, where it has already applied for a license. According to the company CEO Andrew McIver, "These acquisitions emphasise Sportingbet's commitment to generating revenue from regulated markets. We have already demonstrated our ability to deliver strong growth in licensed territories such as Australia and we are excited by the opportunity that Denmark represents." He also stressed that Sportingbet will retain a number of key individuals from Danbook and Scandic to provide it with their services.