32Red taken over by the Kindred Group

Following intense negotiations, 32Red shareholders have finally accepted the purchase offer of Stockholm-based Kindred Group, “one of Europe’s fastest growing online gambling companies with more than 1,100 employees working across 13 markets.” The takeover of 32Red, based in Gibraltar, will come at a cost of £176.5 million and has been given approval by the Licensing Authority of Gibraltar, meeting all regulatory needs and making the offer unconditional.

Kindred Tapping Further Into The UK Market

The ambitious takeover is a further sign of Kindred Group’s intended growth in the UK market and marks the company’s first acquisition since its purchase of StanJames in 2015. The deal will undoubtedly improve Kindred Group’s position in the online casino market and keeps in line with the company’s multi-brand strategy. The Swedish firm has a host of Scandinavian companies under its portfolio, but online sports betting company Unibet remains its major asset. Online gaming companies MariaCasino and Bingo.com, also under the ownership of Kindred, represent a clear sign of the company’s ambitions in the UK market. 32Red will be integrated with Kindred Group’s current portfolio but initially will be re-registered as a private limited company. All 32Red assets are on schedule to be integrated with those of Kindred’s by the first half of the 2017 financial year.

Henrik Tjarnstrom, CEO of Kindred Group, stated upon the launch of the bid for 32Red: “The acquisition of 32Red is consistent with our multi-brand strategy and stated a desire to grow our business in locally regulated and soon to be regulated markets. 32Red is a high quality, customer-focused business with a similar culture to Kindred Group’s and we are delighted to welcome 32Red and its team into the Kindred family and look forward to further developing the brand going forward.”

Purchasing A Thriving Company

Over the past decade, 32Red has overseen a notable growth in its offerings, adding sports betting, bingo and online poker to its portfolio. Kindred’s takeover is a strategic manoeuvre that will increase the Swedish company’s presence in the UK market. Indeed, 32Red experienced its most successful year in 2016 and the company should continue to thrive under its new ownership. In 2016, 32Red recorded a record year for profits and revenue, with corporate revenues of £62 million. This represented a 28% increase from the previous year. 32Red, which has 32Red Casino, 32Red Sports and Roxy Casino under its portfolio, was further boosted by the launch of its new multi-platform website in the first half of 2016.

Ed Ware, Ladbrokes’ Managing Director and CEO of 32Red, stated on the back of a hugely successful 2016: “It is once again a pleasure to announce another record annual performance from 32Red. In 2016 the Group delivered continued strategic progress across the business… This outstanding operational progress has resulted in another hugely successful financial outcome with EBITDA more than doubling and revenues and revenues rising by an impressive 28% to exceed prior records.”

Kindred Group has already strengthened its market stance in Northern Europe in recent years, most notably with the €59 million purchase of iGame. Kindred shares have risen four-fold in under 5 years, underlining its current health. The addition of another thriving company in 32Red can only increase Kindred’s strength in the UK market.