Evoke, the owner of prominent betting entities like William Hill, has recently announced the acquisition of New Gambling Solutions (NGS), which operates Winner.ro, currently ranked as Romania’s seventh-largest online betting and gaming platform. This strategic move, disclosed on Friday, aims to consolidate Evoke’s operations within the Romanian market, enhancing its competitive edge.

Strategic market expansion:

The London-listed firm revealed that merging its Romanian operations with Winner.ro will catapult the combined entity to the fourth-largest group in Romania’s betting and gaming sector, holding an estimated 7% market share. Under the terms of the acquisition, Evoke will integrate its existing Romanian business and contribute €10 million in cash, securing a 51% stake in the merged entity.

The deal’s structure allows for potential increases in Evoke’s stake, ranging from 51% to 57% by 2026, based on performance metrics. Additionally, Evoke retains the option to fully acquire the business three years post-completion.

The acquisition is in line with Evoke’s broader strategic intentions to capitalize on rapidly expanding markets. The Romanian online betting market, valued at approximately €1.1 billion in 2023, is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% through 2026.

Winner.ro, which launched in 2019, has rapidly gained a substantial market presence through its innovative product offerings and a robust local distribution network. Evoke plans to manage the integration of Winner.ro with its existing platform, 888.ro, under the leadership of Nicklas Zajdel, current CEO of Winner, along with a specialized local team.

Technological and operational synergies:

Post-acquisition, the combined operations will utilize the Newton platform, benefiting from Evoke’s extensive expertise in data management and automation. This merger is projected to position Romania as Evoke’s fifth core market, joining the ranks of the UK, Italy, Spain, and Denmark.

Evoke anticipates that this transaction, subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close in the third quarter, will begin enhancing earnings by 2025. This development is projected to occur without impacting the company’s financial leverage or altering its guidance for the 2024 fiscal year.

Per Widerström, CEO of Evoke, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition: “I am excited to announce the addition of Winner to the Evoke portfolio,” he stated. “This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to build sustainable market-leading profitable positions in the most attractive markets. It is also consistent with our M&A strategy to focus on low-capital, high-impact combinations that accelerate the delivery of our strategy.”

As ShareCast reports, Widerström also highlighted the significant progress Evoke has made in Romania, describing it as an “exciting” growth market: “This combination will cement a leading position for Evoke, and I am looking forward to working with the whole team at Winner to deliver ongoing profitable growth and market share gains, as we deliver exceptional products through two incredibly strong and complementary brands. I am delighted to announce the creation of our fifth core market and have no doubt that this transaction will deliver significant value creation on top of our previously announced plan.”

Nicklas Zajdel commented in Evoke’s official notice: “This is an incredibly exciting transaction, bringing together our local-hero brand, with one of the world’s strongest international casino brands. Romania is a high-growth market, and this combination sets us on the path to a sustainable, profitable, market-leading position. Winner has a strong leadership team and we are building on our success in the market through our highly localised approach, and competitive advantages such as our product platform, our enhanced personalisation, and wide network of deposit points.

I look forward to working with the team at evoke to further deploy these competitive advantages across the enlarged business, driving significant benefits to our customers with enhanced personalisation, and ultimately driving our success in the market and value creation.”