Evolution Announces $12-Million Tie-Up with Fellow Live Casino Provider Ezugi

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Evolution buys Ezugi to cement its position in existing markets and enter new ones; deal to be closed in early 2019

Live casino provider Evolution Gaming announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement to buy its fellow live dealer gaming company Ezugi in a deal that is anticipated to extend Evolution’s geographical footprint and to accelerate growth through key gaming markets.

Evolution will pay $12 million in cash for the live dealer gaming provider. Aside from the initial consideration, the company might pay an additional amount of $6 million. The deal is expected to be finalized early next year and is subject to certain customary closing conditions.

Founded in 2012, Ezugi provides desktop and mobile live dealer solutions to online gambling businesses, brick-and-mortar casinos, and betting shops. Its main markets include the states of New Jersey and Oklahoma, Europe, Latin America, and South Africa.

As mentioned earlier, the acquisition of its rival will extend Evolution’s footprint across both new markets, such as South Africa, as well as across markets the company is already present in. The addition of Ezugi is expected to add 2-4% to Evolution’s revenue for 2019 and be “slightly accretive” to earnings per share in 2019, the company said in a statement yesterday.

The deal comes as the latest manifestation of what has now become a consistent and growing trend of consolidation in the global gambling market. Constantly intensifying competition in the space, regulatory pressure, and growing competition have unleashed an unprecedented wave of merger and acquisition deals over the past several years. In the case of Evolution and Ezugi, the growing demand for live dealer casino products could too have been an important factor to have encouraged their tie-up.

Licensed in the US

Evolution and Ezugi are currently the only two live dealer gaming suppliers licensed to provide their products in Atlantic City. Evolution went live in one of the largest US casino markets only a few months ago, but Ezugi has been around for several years now.

The experience its new acquisition has accumulated over its years of working with Atlantic City’s casino operators will certainly help Evolution cement itself in this important market.

The announcement about Evolution buying Ezugi arrives as the second important piece of news for the company in as many weeks. It became known earlier this month that the Swedish live casino specialist has joined forces with Belgian casino group Ardent to work together on a nightly live casino TV broadcast.

Under their partnership, Evolution will establish a dedicated studio for Ardent to run a late night television program targeting Belgian players who will be able to gamble remotely using their mobile devices. Gamblers will be able to play Evolution’s Live Speed Baccarat and Slingshot Auto Roulette games.

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