UK group to acquire Olympic Entertainment Group

Gaming operator Olympic Entertainment Group has accepted a takeover bid by Odyssey Europe AS, owned by a British firm.

UK.- Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG) is set to be taken over by Odyssey Europe AS after controlling stakeholders voted in favour of its takeover bid. The transaction would be worth nearly €288 million as Odyssey will acquire 100 per cent of the shares at €1.90 per share.

Odyssey Europe AS is owned by funds advised by UK private equity firm Novalpina Capital and its offer was accepted after OEG’s largest shareholders, Armin Karu and Jaan Korpusov (who own 64 per cent of the company’s titles together), voted in favour of the operation. The share offer period will start on April 4th and finish on May 2nd.

“I recommend other shareholders to take up the offer,” said Mr Karu, founder and chairman at OEG, who considers the price set to be “fair” and explained: “[Novalpina Capital] has significant experience in investing in companies and helping them expand both geographically and digitally.”

The deal will see Odyssey taking over OEG’s mix of land-based and online casinos which operate in six European markets. The business reported total revenue of €215 million in 2017, up five per cent from 2016, earnings declined 12 per cent to €47.3 million and net profit jumped 2.7 per cent to €30.6 million.