Unibet lays down £19m on Stan James’ online gambling business
Unibet has completed the full acquisition of British betting firm Stan James' online business for £19m.
Read more: Unibet posts strong first quarter
The transaction, expected to complete in the third quarter of 2015, does not include Stan James' UK shops but is expected to "significantly strengthen" Unibet's growing position in the UK market.
Stan James' online recorded earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of £1.4m last year, yet Swedish firm Unibet expect to give that a boost through "more-effective marketing" and bringing live streaming, casino and an improved mobile offering to its product range.
The UK online gambling market is one of the biggest in the world, estimated to be worth around £2.7bn.
Unibet chief executive Henrik Tjärnström said:
We have long been looking at strengthening our position in the UK online market. Stan James as an operator is one of the most well-respected in the UK market with particular strengths in horse-racing and other British sports.
Stan James has had a long presence in the British market where there are few companies of this size available for acquisition. Since Unibet has only recently targeted the UK market there is little overlap between our respective businesses.
The announcement of the deal sent Unibet's share price up by over four per cent on Nasdaq Stockholm this morning.