Initial £2.4 million investment by Cherry AB at a £10 million valuation
About the client:
Highlight Games creates unique virtual sports content from major European football matches under multi-year rights packages
About the transaction:
Cherry AB, the Nasdaq-listed online gaming operator, acquired 25 per cent of Highlight Games Limited, together with an option to acquire a further 26 percent.
Cherry’s investment is the third round of funding secured from three separate investors by Akur for Highlight Games during 2016 and 2017.
Tim Green, Chief Executive of Highlight Games said: “We are delighted to welcome Cherry as a significant strategic investor in Highlight Games. I would like to thank Akur for working alongside us in introducing Cherry and structuring this transaction, as well as bringing our earlier investors on board. We have seen real benefits from our long-term partnership with Akur and look forward to growing the business together in the coming years.”
Ace2Three is a leading online skill based gaming platform in India, serving over 8 million customers
About the transaction:
Sale of a majority equity stake in Head Infotech Pvt Ltd, the operator of Ace2Three.com, to funds managed by Clairvest Group Inc (TSX:CVG), a Toronto-based private equity house.
Akur Capital ran an extensive process to identify and deliver a successful exit for a majority of shareholders. Akur secured a 20x exit multiple for Matrix Partners India, one of its most successful investments to date.
The consideration of $74m represents one of the largest ever transactions in the online gaming space in India.
Deepak Gullapalli, Chief Executive of Head Infotech said: “Clairvest brings much more than capital to this deal: it brings a wealth of experience in building companies of our size as well as expertise in the gaming space. We are grateful to the Akur team for their work in bringing this complex, cross-border deal together. We have been particularly impressed by their international gaming network, sector knowledge and commitment to the transaction.”
8Ball is a leading multi-brand UK online bingo and casino operator with over 60,000 active players across 74 sites. 8Ball’s most prominent brands include including Booty Bingo, WeWantBingo, SuperSpins, and BingowithKerry.
About the transaction:
Akur Capital ran an extensive process to identify and deliver a successful exit for shareholders and the most appropriate partner for 8Ball’s management team on a long-term basis.
Jeremy Bygrave, CEO of 8Ball, commented: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Stride Gaming who we believe are an excellent fit for 8Ball. We are grateful to the Akur team for their advice and guidance throughout the transaction process. From the outset, we have been impressed by Akur’s sector expertise, professionalism and commitment to the deal at every stage.”
Stride Gaming PLC stated that their acquisition of 8Ball: “…provides scale, expands the Group’s multi-branded offering, adds proven cross marketing business intelligence to achieve low CPA levels and brings expertise in operating multi brands and multi platforms.”
ThinCats is Europe’s largest SME secured lending platform, a peer-to-peer online provider, having lent more than £150 million to UK businesses since its foundation in 2010.
About the transaction:
Akur Capital originated the transaction, which has been widely credited as the UK’s first major peer-to-peer M&A deal. This follows Akur’s brokering of a £50 million underwriting facility onto the ThinCats’ lending platform, announced in February 2015.
Concurrently with completing the ThinCats acquisition, ESF Capital has announced plans to make ThinCats the first of a series of deals in the European business lending sector, providing acceleration capital to peer to peer businesses in the form of strategic and operating resource, investment capital and speciality lending capital. ESF Capital represents a European specialist investment firm.
Kevin Caley, Co-Founder and Chairman of ThinCats commented: “We are grateful to the Akur team for their crucial role in both the underwriting and M&A transactions with ESF and for their support and advice over an extended period of time. From the early stages of identifying and introducing potential partners through to structuring and finalising both deals, we have been impressed with Akur’s commitment, professionalism and sector expertise throughout the process.”
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