Allwyn digital CEO: Some M&A discussions in the pipeline, but no urgency to close a deal
Allwyn is deep into a huge operational transformation, as the lottery group diversifies its reach to become one of the sector’s largest multi-channel gaming groups globally.
At the helm of that transformation is industry veteran Kresimir Spajic, the company’s digital CEO. Spajic joined Allwyn in September last year, and has openly said during his time at the company that working with billionaire founder Karel Komárek has been a transformative experience in itself.
“The main reason why I’m here is Karel, because he sold me his vision and his story. He sees Allwyn as a digitally led entertainment company. [And] he doesn’t look only through the realm of gaming, but he wants to expand our industry, and especially our company outside of this,” Spajic tells iGB, sitting poolside at a Marbella hotel.
Allwyn has spent the last year vastly growing its reach through some seismic M&A deals, including its merger with Greek lottery giant OPAP, through which is it now listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
Then there was the $1.6 billion PrizePicks acquisition, to expand its North American reach and enter the DFS fray, with potential to move into other verticals.
M&A to support Allwyn’s global strategy
As Allwyn works to integrate these businesses, Spajic says additional M&A is absolutely on the horizon. He says a number of discussions are under way, but when asked what the timeline for these potential opportunities looks like, there is no urgency to close a deal.
“We don’t feel that pressure, we want to do the right deal. We want to do things which are accurative to what we are doing, and it will ultimately lead to our main objective of becoming the leading, global, digital entertainment company,” Spajic adds.
“There is always an element of urgency in this industry, because you don’t want to become obsolete. We are not complacent. We are constantly exploring what the next thing is, and trying to be at the forefront of that next thing. So, yes, there are quite a few things in the pipeline, but there is no urgency that we must do the deal.”
Why Novibet didn’t work out
Speaking on the company’s recent withdrawal from its deal to acquire European sportsbook Novibet, Spajic says: “There were a couple of elements we were looking for, one definitely is technology, talent, but also market penetration in certain areas that they have.”
The deal fell through due to numerous remedies considered and discussed failing to maintain the value of the transaction. The decision related to feedback from the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC).
“We felt it was a good deal for everybody, [including] Novibet, us, but also for the Greek government and for the Greek consumers,” says Spajic.
“In the end it didn’t work out. When you look at the way these deals should have been restructured, and everything wouldn’t ultimately deliver the value that we expected for any of these parties. So we are exploring other alternatives and executing on other M&A strategies that we have.”
He explains the operator is looking for both tuck-in acquisitions to improve its operational and technical capabilities, to “either open us up to new frontiers, markets which are not very developed, not regulated, not mature enough”.
“Or looking strategically at the areas which we are missing in our portfolios. That is one of the reasons we were looking at Novibet and we have continued looking into the market. I believe that we have one of the smartest investment teams in the industry, which is very, very focussed on executing our strategy,” Spajic adds.
Ultimately the digital CEO says Allwyn is also improving its operational capacity organically. “We are increasing our internal capabilities because we see growth coming from two parts. One is inorganic, which has been mostly the path of our company, but we’re also delivering on organic growth as well, by improving operational efficiencies and bringing these tacking capabilities,” he concludes.
A full profile wiith Kresimir Spajic will follow on iGB.