Kambi Group agrees deal for the purchase of front-end doyen Shape Games

Maltese online wagering technologies innovator Kambi Group has announced the signing of an arrangement that could see it spend up to €78.1 million ($77.8 million) so as to acquire award-winning front-end technologies specialist Shape Games.

The Valletta-headquartered firm used an official press release to detail that the understanding is to involve an upfront cash payment of €38.5 million ($38.3 million) followed by a performance-related earn-out that could reach as high as €39.6 million ($39.4 million). The company also stated that the completion of this deal will allow it to utilize the front-end innovations from Shape Games in order to strengthen its own sports wagering proposition via the upping of its ‘capability to deliver engaging and tailored sportsbetting experiences.’

Avant-garde attractions:

Kambi Group declared that Copenhagen-headquartered Shape Games was established in 2018 and offers ‘a best-in-class front-end’ for online sportsbook operators alongside a range of complimentary customer engagement advances running from statistics and personalization solutions to free-play games and loyalty attractions that allow ‘operators to drive incremental growth and revenues.’ The company furthermore asserted that it already held ‘an established partnership’ with the Danish enterprise while the coming acquisition is set to deliver ‘greater commercial success for both parties.’

Independence intent:

Kristian Nylen (pictured) serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Kambi Group and he used the press release to pronounce that the acquisition of Shape Games conforms to his firm’s policy of acquiring ‘technology and talent’ that enhances and complements its existing prominent position on the global sportsbetting scene. The experienced boss moreover confirmed that the enterprise is to be run on a standalone basis following the completion of the purchase agreement but have its overall offer enhanced via ‘a closer technical and commercial integration’ with its new parent.

Read a statement from Nylen…

“Having worked closely with Shape Games and its experienced team over recent years, I have seen first-hand how its technology enables operators to extract the full value of the our sportsbook and provides the level of control operators require to deliver bespoke experiences to their players. While Shape Games will continue to grow and offer its services on a standalone basis in line with our plans to offer a suite of modularized products, it is the ability to offer partners a combination of both companies’ technologies that really excites us and will solidify our position as the clear leader within the sportsbetting ecosystem.”

Successful setup:

For his part and the Chief Executive Officer for Shape Games, Christian Risom, noted that his endeavor has some 80 full-time employees at offices in Latvia, Denmark, Spain and the Isle of ManCome from Online Betting Site. The pioneer additionally divulged that the company already holds alliances with the likes of Danske Spil AS and Norsk Tipping AS and last year generated €2.8 million ($2.7 million) in annual earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortization from €7.6 million ($7.5 million) in aggregated revenues.

A statement from Risom read…

“Shape Games and Kambi Group have been working closely for years and we are now excited to take this partnership to new levels. Together we will have an unmatched sportsbetting and casino offering for any market in the world whether that be for mobile and web or retail.”