Netplay strikes Virgin deal
NETPLAY TV, the interactive gaming company led by Lancashire entrepreneur Martin Higginson, has struck a “transformational” deal with Virgin Media Television.
The business, which has offices in London and Lancaster, has acquired Two Way Gaming from Virgin for £2m and given Virgin the option to take a 9.9% stake in Netplay.
Two Way Gaming runs Virgin’s Challenge Jackpot game screened on Virgin Media Television, Sky and the internet.
Netplay said the additional revenue from the new acquisition would take its gross monthly bets to more than £45m.
The group described the deal as “transformational”. “Once fully integrated it is expected to enhance the company’s prospects considerably,” the company said. Netplay shares dropped 1.5p to 20.5p following the statement.
In a trading update issued at the same time Netplay said it full-year earnings to December 31 would be in line with market expectations.
The company has issued 4.4 million new shares at 18p each to raise £800,000 towards the costs of the transaction.
The placing is being supported by Mr Higginson, non-executive Andrew Lapping and some existing institutional shareholders.
In a statment Mr Higginson said: “We are extremely pleased to be entering into this arrangement with Virgin Media Television. The combination of the established Challenge Jackpot brand with our vision for converged gaming solutions will be a powerful force. From our perspective, it allows us to offer gaming services to a new set of customers, thus broadening our demographic reach considerably.”
