NetEnt officially owned by Evolution in NASDAQ Takeover Bid (Image Source: https://images.unsplash.com)
Although Evolution and NetEnt are yet to make an official announcement, the Evolution takeover of NetEnt is as good as closed with Evolution Gaming Group now a 94% shareholder.
Originally the public offer by Evolution was on 24 June 2020 causing a stir in the iGaming industry and yesterday Evolution declared the offer as now ‘unconditional’. As of today, Evolution is moving forward to initiate a compulsory redemption of the remaining 6% of shares, which is an official and legal move due to the overwhelming majority of shares Evolution now owns.
The announcement was no surprise for most of the iGaming community after the CMA UK approved the takeover deal. It was the CMA’s decision that held the deal back, but as soon as approval was official, shares in both Evolution and NetEnt increased confirming that the takeover was going ahead.
NetEnt is officially under Evolution’s control
With 96% control of shares, there is no disputing NetEnt is officially in the hands of Evolution. Based on this information, NetEnt already filed a request to begin delisting all Nasdaq Stockholm B-shares. For the time being, NetEnt’s last day of trading is not yet official.
NetEnt already lined up an extraordinary general meeting which set to take place on 17 December. The meeting agenda is to vote on new appointments for the ‘Board of NetEnt’. New elections of board members include Martin Carlesund, Jesper von Bahr, and Jacob Kaplan. Jacob Kaplan is the current Chief Financial Officer/IR for Evolution Gaming Group AB, Jesper Von Bahr is Chief Legal and Risk Officer at Evolution Gaming, and Martin Carlesund is of course the Chief Executive Officer of Evolution. The 17 December meeting is to vote in these 3 key figures so Evolution can move on with its long-term plans for the NetEnt/Evolution brand.
Evolution’s gains a 10th additional live dealer studio
This is a significant move by Evolution. The firm extends the Evolution live dealer portfolio from 9 studios to 10 with the NetEnt live dealer location under Evolution’s wing.
Evolution gains a flurry of highly qualified dealers and croupiers and 7 table games which are predominantly a mix of roulette and blackjack including the extremely popular ‘Perfect’ blackjack table while the brand new NetEnt Baccarat table makes up for 8 NetEnt live dealer tables.
Whether the NetEnt brand will remain for the studio is unclear. Evolution so far retains the Ezugi brand name after buying the firm and may well do the same with its NetEnt live dealer brand.
NetEnt’s current live table game portfolio
- Live Baccarat (new)
- Blitz Blackjack Silver
- Classic Roulette Silver
- Auto Roulette Studio
- VIP Roulette
- Perfect Blackjack (Very Popular)
- Classic Roulette Live
- BLITZ Blackjack
NetEnt’s virtual table game portfolio
With Evolution already dabbling in the virtual table marketing via its ‘First Person’ almost virtual reality looking ‘RNG’ and ‘Provably Fair’ operated table games, the acquisition of NetEnt table games will offer a new angle for Evolution’s virtual table game operations.
Evolution’s First Person table games replicate the atmosphere of a land-based casino with casino rooms full of tables to choose from. The games are also a replica of live dealer tables, so you are playing a 3D live table game, but in a virtual environment, then there is a ‘go live option’.
NetEnt Table games are flat and although they use 3D graphics, they look more like a 2D game. That does not take away any of the quality of entertainment as it is just a different style. In fact, this style of virtual table game is common on all the major software developers’ platforms such as Microgaming, Playtech, Pragmatic Play, and BetSoft.
NetEnt virtual table games portfolio
- Blackjack Single Deck
- Roulette
- Blackjack
- Texas Hold’em Pro
- Baccarat Pro
- French Roulette
- European Roulette
- American Roulette
Adding slots and a jackpot network to the Evolution platform
One area Evolution will now become a key player is the online slots and jackpot gaming arena. There are more than 200 slots with a mix of features. The brand new Megaways and Cluster Pays slots are now firm fixtures within the NetEnt (soon to be Evolution) online slots collection. NetEnt also has deals for its online slots’ distribution in US states such as New Jersey and more recently Pennsylvania which are both states Evolution already operates with its own live casino studios operating in each state.
Adding to this, the NetEnt jackpot network is another exciting vertical within the brand’s online casino games portfolio. Evolution now has ownership of the very popular ‘Divine Fortune’ progressive jackpot slot along with Mega Fortune, Arabian Nights, Halls of Gods, and Mercy of the Gods.
Popular NetEnt slot titles moving over to Evolution
- Starburst
- Twin Spin
- Vegas Nightlife
- Hotline 2
- Gonzo’s Quest
- 10+ Progressive Jackpots
Two highly profitable firms join as 1 force!
The result of this takeover is not just the huge extension of the Evolution online casino gaming portfolio but the joining of 2 firms that are both highly profitable. By Q3 of 2020 Evolution reported €204 million profits and NetEnt also reported similar figures as its combined collection of video slots, jackpot slots, live dealer table games, and virtual table games plus the firm’s other B2B activities brought in huge profits as per an official NetEnt financial report in October 2020.
This is the start of a new beginning for Evolution as an all-round online casino platform provider looking to become known as not just the king of live dealer gaming, but the king of iGaming as a whole!
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