Veltyco commits to Germany as it pulls out of BTTY purchase
Veltyco has committed its future to the German gambling market despite pulling out of a proposed acquisition of BTTY’s owner Ruleo Alpenland.
Gaming industry marketer Veltyco said in a filing this (Monday) morning that it would not be pursuing a €6.5m (£5.7m/$7.6m) deal for the betting operator and its parent company that was first announced in February.
Over the last five months London AIM-listed Veltyco has carried out due diligence on the firm, but said this morning that its board has “decided to terminate the negotiations” due to “recent developments regarding the German licence program that could impact on BTTY going forward”.
A Veltyco spokesperson told iGamingBusiness.com today that doubts over the future of the company’s licence in Schleswig-Holstein following the recent announcement that existing permits will not be renewed after their expiration dates “makes an acquisition by Veltyco much more difficult to justify, especially at the initially agreed price of €6.5m”.
The spokesperson added: “Veltyco will only consider acquisitions at the right price, so that the acquisitions can be accretive for Veltyco.”
Veltyco, which has been led by chief executive Melissa Blau (pictured) for just over three months, has considerable interests in Germany, particularly since its purchase of sportsbook Bet90 last year. In its 2017 final results statement it described Bet90 as the “main driver” for growth in 2018, “as it continues to grow and expand into new markets”.
The Veltyco spokesperson told iGamingBusiness.com: “The German market continues to be important to Veltyco and we are ideally positioned in the market through our own sports book brand Bet90 as well as through a marketing contract with Betsafe (Betsson Group).
“We will however continue to look at acquisitions in the regulated markets, at the right price.”
The news at the end of May that Veltyco would acquire Marsovia Holding from Altair Entertainment would certainly appear to back up suggestions that M&A opportunities are certainly not off the table.
Moreover, the company last month unveiled significant growth in turnover and earnings for 2017.
Back in February, Veltyco said it hoped to take BTTY beyond its existing markets in Germany and Austria.
At the time it said in a statement: “The board of Veltyco believes that the proposed acquisition, if concluded, represents an exciting opportunity for Veltyco to grow BTTY, both in Germany and Austria and in to new territories, by using Veltyco’s expertise in online marketing, in conjunction with its experience in the online gaming industry.”