Pollard Banknote expands into Europe

The US company will acquire the European lottery firm Next Generation Lotteries AS for US$44.3m.

US.- Pollard Banknote Limited recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire the European lotteries firm, Next Generation Lotteries AS (NGL).

The US company will pay US$44.3m (€36m) for the provider of lottery management and iLottery technology, of which $39.4m (€32m) will be payable at the time of closing and the remaining $4.2 (€4m) will be paid upon the achievement of certain gross margin targets in 2021.

The purchase will be funded from existing Pollard Banknote cash resources and availability under existing senior credit facilities for approximately $34m (€27.6m) and the issuance of treasury shares, subject to Toronto Stock Exchange approval, for approximately $5.6m (€4.6m).

In a press release, the company said the operation is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2021.

With a focus on Europe and Asia, NGL’s current customers include the operation of the Loteries de Catalunya in Spain and the provision of lottery services in a number of other international jurisdictions including Tunisia and Norway.

In addition to its lottery operations staff in Spain and Tunisia, NGL has development staff in Iceland and Serbia, where it employs a team of 130 professionals.

Doug Pollard, Co‐Chief Executive Officer of Pollard Banknote, said: “The recent worldwide growth seen in 2020 in omni-channel lottery sales, and particularly iLottery, highlights an important opportunity for lotteries around the world.

“With NGL’s expertise, we look forward to helping our lottery customers in Europe and around the world to increase revenues for the good causes they support.”