NEW YORK, March 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Gaming companies are in the midst of an M&A race to fight for exclusivity, size, and financial potential. Large companies are spending millions to acquire smaller gaming companies and boost their outstanding existence in the industry. The speed at which big companies are buying up other big companies, in deals worth billions, seems to be accelerating. M&A activity generated $38 billion last year, driven by strategic investors like Take Two, Zynga, and EA. A few weeks ago, Microsoft acquired Activision for $68.7 billion, the largest acquisition in the history of gaming. The trend of gobbling up companies in the gaming industry is here to stay, with companies like Bragg Gaming Group (NASDAQ:BRAG) (TSX:BRAG), Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO), Enthusiast Gaming Holdings (TSX:EGLX) (NASDAQ:EGLX), Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ:SGMS), and MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) continuing to sign new deals to grow their share of the market.
On March 1, global gaming technology and content group Bragg Gaming Group (NASDAQ:BRAG) (TSX:BRAG) announced that it has received approval for a license to supply its gaming content and services in the Bahamas. According to Bragg, The Bahamas player base has a similar demographic to the US and Canada markets, which the company plans to target more widely with further license applications underway in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ontario, in addition to the pending acquisition of Spin Games.
Bragg Gaming also recently revealed that its wholly-owned subsidiary ORYX Gaming launched its exclusive iGaming content in the Czech Republic. This partnership with the SYNOT Group, via its SYNOT INTERACTIVE platform marks ORYX’s entry into the Czech Republic. It also strengthens its presence in Central Europe.
In addition to the recent launches in the Bahamas and Czech Republic, Bragg has released its popular content on regulated markets in Switzerland, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom in the last 12 months.
“Introducing our Czech-certified exclusive game titles via the SYNOT INTERACTIVE platform for players at SYNOT TIP Czech Republic represents another milestone in our continuing efforts to expand the number of markets we serve globally. The success we have had since early 2021 with growing the number of markets we address is expected to further our growth momentum with more new markets expected to come online later this year including in North America and in Europe,” said Chris Looney, Chief Commercial Officer for Bragg Gaming. “We are excited to enter the Czech market that is served by SYNOT TIP as we are confident the engaging entertainment our content offers will prove to be popular with players.”
Bragg Gaming sees multi-year growth thanks to the success of its ongoing iGaming content and platform expansion and new market strategy. The global gaming technology and content specialist expects 2021 full-year revenue of approximately US$66.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of approximately US$8 million. Bragg also raised its full-year 2022 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance to a revenue range of US$78-82 million and an adjusted EBITDA range of US$10.8-12 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 21% and 43%, respectively.
Bragg expects to complete the acquisition of Spin Games by the end of Q1 2022.
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Gaming Companies Are Growing and Entering Strategic Partnerships
Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) and Zynga, two leaders in interactive and mobile entertainment, announced in January that they have entered into a definitive agreement. Take-Two will acquire all outstanding shares of Zynga in an all-cash transaction for a total value of $9.86 per share, implying an enterprise value of $12.7 million. The transaction represents a 64% premium to Zynga’s closing stock price on January 7, 2022. This transformative combination unifies highly complementary businesses, including Take-Two‘s best-in-class portfolio of console and PC games and Zynga’s industry-leading mobile franchises. With this acquisition, Take-Two will become one of the largest publishers of mobile games, with $6.1 billion in pro-forma Net Bookings for the trailing twelve-month period ended September 30, 2021.
Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:EGLX) (TSX:EGLX), a media and content platform for gaming and Esports fans to connect and engage, announced on February 15 the results of its latest custom study with Nielsen for January 2022. The study’s goal was to measure the total social reach and Twitch viewership of the company’s Luminosity Gaming esports audience. Results show that Luminosity Gaming’s total social subscriber count now exceeds 145 million worldwide, having grown 13% since the last study in October 2021. Moreover, hours watched by the Luminosity Gaming esports team on Twitch topped 32 million globally in January, a 34% growth in three months. Luminosity Gaming is the world’s most-watched esports team on Twitch, with hours watched now 50% higher than the closest esports competitor.
Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ:SGMS) has partnered with U.S.-based gaming company Rush Street Interactive, bringing its casino content live with one of Colombia’s leading operator brands, RushBet.co. The expansion of the existing partnership has already seen a slew of popular in-house and third-party titles rolled out through the OpenGaming ecosystem for RSI players in Colombia. The first batch of titles hitting the market includes Big Time Gaming (BTG) Bonanza Megaways™, Dragon Palace from Lightning Box, the studio that joined the Scientific Games family earlier this year, and Raging Rhino from SG Digital. Other engaging games are set to receive certification for RushBet.co to offer its players in Colombia over the coming months as part of the multi-year agreement. Scientific Games will also provide exclusive content to RushBet.co, including a series of exciting digital conversions of the company’s land-based hits.
BetMGM is a leading sports betting and iGaming operator born of a partnership between MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) and Entain Plc. BetMGM and SportsGrid, the US’ first and only 24-hour sports betting streaming network, announced on February 17 a strategic partnership focused on integrating BetMG content in SportsGrid’s live original programming. The content will be supported by television and social media advertising. BetMGM’s brand, odds, and promotions will be incorporated into SportsGrid’s most popular shows. In addition, SportsGrid will have access to BetMGM’s business team and brand ambassadors to create unique insider content for the network.
Spin Games’ existing relationships with major US iGaming operators will significantly accelerate Bragg Gaming Group’s market entry. The company plans to raise its outlook during 2022.
