Opportunity knocks for GiG as 888Africa acquisition expected to ‘strengthen B2B pipeline’ CFO says

GiG is approaching the completion of its acquisition of an 80% stake in 888Africa, marking a significant new chapter for the group. It is an unexpected return to B2C for GiG, but one that group CFO Phil Richards believes can deliver immediate earnings while providing a stronger foothold in Africa.

Last month, GiG Software plc announced plans to acquire an 80% stake in Evoke’s 888Africa, in a deal valued at up to €16.4 million ($19.1 million).

To fund the acquisition, the company intends to raise €8.5 million through a direct share issue. The deal marks its return to B2C after becoming a pure play B2B platform play in 2023.

Richards tells iGB the deal is expected to be completed around the end of September and provides GiG with a “profitable, cash-generative B2C operator” and a footprint in some of Africa’s fastest-growing regulated markets.

Additionally, it gives GiG a “strategic bridgehead” for its core B2B business, the CFO says.

“That dual value is really the point of the deal,” he explains. “Owning a leading local operator gives us direct, ground-level insight into regulatory developments, player behaviour and payment infrastructure across several African markets, insight that is very difficult to build from the outside.

“Over time we expect that knowledge and local presence to help us open conversations with other operators looking to enter or expand in Africa, in the same way our historical B2C experience in Europe underpinned our platform proposition there.

“So this is not an either/or. It is a B2C acquisition that we expect to strengthen our B2B pipeline on the continent.”

Why is GiG returning to B2C, and why now?

GiG exited the B2C space in 2023 when, after a strategic review, the company split its media and platform divisions, the former of which was rebranded as Gentoo Media.

The 888Africa acquisition announcement raises questions about why GiG have opted to return to the B2C sphere. Richards warns against over-analysing the deal as a wholesale return to B2C, insisting that GiG remains a B2B platform and tech business at its core.

Asked why GiG had returned to B2C, Richards explains the decision was threefold.

“First, our own priorities have shifted,” he says. “We have been explicit that we are moving away from a growth-at-all-costs mindset, towards a more disciplined focus on profitability and cash generation, and 888Africa is immediately accretive on both counts.

“Second, the opportunity itself was time-limited. 888Africa became available because of Evoke’s own strategic evolution, and assets of this quality with this kind of market position do not come up often.

“Third, the African market has matured to a point where the regulatory, mobile and demographic tailwinds are now translating into genuine, durable growth rather than early-stage promise.”

Are B2B headwinds a factor?

However Hjalmar Ahlberg, who covers GiG as an analyst for Redeye, suggests the decision to acquire 888Africa and re-enter B2C may be partly down to headwinds being experienced by the company’s B2B business.

“It started off pretty good when the new management and the spin-off was completed,” he comments. “They had a really good pipeline of customers, and I mean, their projections looked pretty solid.

“[But] part of that was some sweepstakes operators, and I think that market became a bit more uncertain compared to when they started to look at those kinds of customers. And then they also had, they called it a tier one customer I think in Brazil, which was supposed to launch in early 2026, but then they decided not to enter that market. So I think they had some opportunities that did not end up as expected.”

Opportunistic but targeted

While Ahlberg explains GiG is experiencing B2B headwinds, he also views the 888Africa deal as an opportunistic one. This is confirmed by Richards, who describes the acquisition as a “targeted, opportunistic move” with “compelling” economics.

In its currently ongoing takeover of Evoke Bally’s Intralot will retain the remaining 20% of 888Africa and will stay active in management.

Ahlberg agrees the €16.4 million valuation is attractive, with a deferred consideration of around €10.4 million that reduces the immediate cash burden.

Corfai Capital Managing Partner and Founder Ben Robinson is even more bullish on the price, pointing to the circumstances in which GiG was able to acquire the business.

“On the numbers GiG has disclosed it looks cheap,” he says. “€16.4 million for 80% implies an EV of €20.5 million against roughly $50 million of run-rate NGR, 30% year-on-year growth and positive cash generation. €6m of cash on day one for a business generating $50 million of NGR tells you who needed the deal.”

Although Bally’s takeover of Evoke may have prompted a slightly discounted price and a quick decision for GiG to buy 888Africa, the continent has been part of GiG’s plans for a while Richards insists. “We received the information memorandum in Q2 2026,” Richards adds. “Africa has long been a market that our CEO Richard Carter has admired and his insight enabled us to move quickly to be able to announce the principal commercial terms at our results at the end of August.”

On sale from a distressed vendor

Both Richards and Ahlberg state this acquisition doesn’t reflect a turnaround story for 888Africa, with a management team led by industry veteran Christopher Coyne and a footprint in some of the continent’s fastest-growing markets.

“It has real market positions already, including a market-leading position in Mozambique and a growing presence in Angola and Tanzania, so we are buying established local relevance rather than starting from zero,” Richards continues.

“That combination of proven profitability, established market share and continuity of management materially reduces the execution risk you would normally associate with re-entering a consumer-facing business.”

But, as Robinson warns, the opportunity to enter Africa doesn’t come without challenges.

“It’s profitable, it’s growing and it was for sale from a distressed vendor,” he says. “That combination rarely appears in regulated Europe, where scaling a B2C brand means paying up for customers against Flutter and Entain on thin margins.

“Africa isn’t saturated, but I wouldn’t call it easy either. Betway and the local incumbents are well dug in. The difference is that you’re competing for a market that’s still forming, at a fraction of the acquisition cost, and the operating margin is there if you get the payments and the product right. The risk is regulatory and currency rather than competitive.”

A measured approach

GiG’s immediate priority following the completion of the deal will be disciplined integration, says Richards. This includes bringing 888Africa’s financial reporting, compliance and operational processes in line with GiG’s standards.

Ahlberg suggests GiG will look to transition 888Africa onto GiG’s platform, providing synergies down the line. Richards says GiG will look at where the company’s platform and tech can add value to the existing 888Africa business, although in terms of expansion, he again reaffirms that it will be a cautious approach in the short term.

“We are deliberately not pursuing an aggressive expansion agenda in the early months,” he explains. “We want to prioritise integration and consolidating our existing positions first, and only look at new market entry once we are confident the operational foundations are in place.”

Could there be further B2C acquisitions for GiG?

Some analysts have questioned whether this deal marks the beginning of an M&A spree for GiG as it looks to re-enter the B2C space.

But that isn’t the case according to Richards: “We are not signalling plans to re-enter B2C elsewhere; Africa is a distinct case: a high-growth, underpenetrated region where owning a local operator makes strategic sense in a way it may not elsewhere.”

There’s also a financial constraint, with Ahlberg noting that GiG has used its available cash and is raising additional capital to fund the 888Africa transaction, meaning he doesn’t expect the company to pursue further B2C acquisitions in the short term.

A broader shift for GiG

Robinson takes a more expansive view, however, arguing that the acquisition could mark the beginning of a broader shift in GiG’s strategy. “I’d read it as the start of something, not a one-off,” he says. “GiG’s survival as an independent business depends on consolidating in emerging markets where it can own the P&L, not just supply the technology.

“It’s worth remembering this isn’t foreign ground. GiG ran Rizk, Guts, Kaboo and Thrills until it sold them to Betsson in 2020 to pay down a bond. A previous regime decided B2C and B2B didn’t mix. The current one clearly thinks otherwise.”

Ultimately, Ahlberg sees the acquisition as opening two possible paths for GiG, with the balance between B2B and B2C likely to depend on how each business performs. “I definitely think this business will become a larger part of GiG,” he concludes.

“And then I guess we will see. I mean if this business really grows fast, then it might become more B2C, but as I see it now, it feels like a kind of a 50-50 story where you have both opportunities there.

“If the B2B starts to grow faster, they might end up doing a bit more of that. If the B2C
does really well, they might end up doing more B2C. So I guess it’s still a bit early to see where it ends up longer term.”