Evoke to buy majority share in Winner.ro.

The former 888 Holdings will buy 51 per cent of the Romanian gambling operator.

Romania.- Evoke, the former 888 Holdings, has announced that it will buy a 51 per cent stake in New Gambling Solutions (NGS) and its subsidiary, the Romanian gambling operator Winner.ro. London-listed Evoke, which owns William Hill and Mr Green, will put its existing Romanian operations and a debt-free cash consideration of €10m into NGS and will have an option to take 100 per cent ownership on the third-year anniversary of the deal.

Winner.ro was launched in 2019 and now has 20,000 retail deposit points. It generated gross gambling revenue of €19m in the first half of this year. Evoke said that together 888.ro and Winner.ro will have a market share of around 7 per cent. Nicklas Zajdel, CEO of Winner.ro, will lead the combined business, and Winner.ro’s 80 staff will join Evoke’s team of 500 in Romania.

Zajdel said: “This is an incredibly exciting transaction, bringing together our local-hero brand with one of the world’s strongest international casino brands. Romania is a high-growth market, and this combination sets us on the path to a sustainable, profitable, market-leading position. Winner has a strong leadership team and we are building on our success in the market through our highly localised approach, and competitive advantages such as our product platform, our enhanced personalisation, and wide network of deposit points.

“I look forward to working with the team at evoke to further deploy these competitive advantages across the enlarged business, driving significant benefits to our customers with enhanced personalisation, and ultimately driving our success in the market and value creation.”

Evoke said the acquisition of NGS aligns with its value creation plan. Romania will become its fifth core market after the UK, Italy, Spain and Denmark. The acquisition is expected to close in the current quarter. Evoke’s full-year guidance remains unaffected.

Evoke CEO Per Widerström said: “I am excited to announce the addition of Winner to the evoke portfolio. This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to build sustainable market-leading profitable positions in the most attractive markets. It is also consistent with our M&A strategy to focus on low-capital, high-impact combinations that accelerate the delivery of our strategy.

“We have enjoyed significant success in Romania, which is an exciting growth market. This combination will cement a leading position for evoke, and I am looking forward to working with the whole team at Winner to deliver ongoing profitable growth and market share gains, as we deliver exceptional products through two incredibly strong and complementary brands.

“I am delighted to announce the creation of our fifth Core Market and have no doubt that this transaction will deliver significant value creation on top of our previously announced plan.”

Evoke reported a loss of £143m for H1, up 300 per cent from a loss of £32m in 2023. The operator saw performance decline in the first half, particularly at the William Hill retail business in the UK.

Group revenue was in line with expectations at £862m, and online revenue rose 1 per cent year-on-year to £338m. However, William Hill retail revenue was down 7 per cent to £258m and online sports betting revenue was down 5.3 per cent despite Euro 2024. Adjusted EBITDA fell by double digits in all core segments, with UK brands seeing “lower than expected returns” from Q1 marketing and promotional activities.