Novibet unveils new board and leadership ahead of SPAC merger
The Greek online gambling group expects to list on the Global Nasdaq through a SPAC deal.
Greece.- The online gaming and sports betting group Novibet has informed investors of a proposed new lineup for its executive leadership team and board of directors ahead of its planned SPAC merger. The company, which has offices in Greece and Malta, has agreed to merge with Artemis Strategic Investment Corporation.
Group chief executive George Athanasopoulos will lead a new executive team to oversee “global expansion across Europe, North and Latin America”. The current treasurer of Artemis SPAC, Thomas Granite, will become Novibet’s chief financial officer (CFO). Meanwhile, Christoforos Bozatzidis will step into the new role of chief marketing officer for international markets.
Granite was formerly CFO at Maverick Gaming and managing director of Jeffries Group’s asset management unit for leisure and gaming. Bozatzidis has worked as marketing director of brand and marketing communications at the Greek telecom group WiND Hellas.
Athanasopoulos said: “Christoforos has many years of senior management experience from the highly competitive mobile telecom industry, an industry that shares a lot of similarities with igaming and OSB in regards to customer acquisition, experience, and retention as our customers are constantly mobile, and we use the same KPIs for our data-driven decision making.
“Tom Granite is an excellent choice to lead our finance team and will play an important role in driving our strategic development initiatives. Novibet’s senior management team alongside all of our team members will be focused on the collaborative innovation we know will help us grow and succeed.”
As for the shape of the company’s board, majority shareholder Rodolfo Odoni, who owns the Cyprus-based fund Komisium, will serve as executive chairman. Athanasopoulos will also have a position on the board while Artemis will appoint Philip N Kaplan and Holly Gagnon.
Kaplan is currently CEO of Artemis SPAC and also chairman of Velocity E-Sports and CEO of Gameworks INC. Gagnon was formerly CEO of the Seneca Nations Gaming Corporation and has also held C-level positions at Caesars Entertainment, Harrahs and MGM Resorts. Samy David, a managing partner at London-based private equity fund Grifton Partners, will become an independent board member.
Odoni said: “Our proposed board of directors will be world-class, as it will include senior executives who possess significant gaming and/or technology industry and capital markets experience that we believe will prove valuable in helping the company continue to execute at a high level and achieve consistent progress on its growth initiatives.
“We’re looking forward to working collaboratively with George and the entire Novibet team as they embark on this exciting time in the company’s history and work to create value for all shareholders.”
The planned SPAC deal would see Novibet list on the Global Nasdaq by the end of H2. The firms are targeting a $600m valuation.
Earlier this year, Novibet gave up its British remote gambling licence and ceased operating in the British market. It announced the move via a banner on its Novibet.co.uk site. Novibet said it had taken the decision for commercial reasons. It told customers to withdraw funds from their gaming accounts.
