Online giant acquires gaming firm
ONLINE gambling company CORE Gaming has been bought by gaming giant Sky Betting and Gaming.
Managing director Justin Chamberlain and his management team will remain with the Solihull business although investor Steve Murray will exit. The value of the deal was undisclosed.
CORE Gaming develops gambling games using HTML 5 for a range of major brands, including Ladbrokes, William Hill and bet365. Its games include slots, scratch cards, instant win and table games.
It first developed a game for the Sky Vegas website in 2014 and the relationship has developed since then.
Sky Betting and Gaming spun out of Sky at the start of 2015, although the media giant retains a small stake. The group is growing quickly, achieving £247m turnover in its last financial year, and it now employs more than 1,000 people, mostly in Leeds and Sheffield.
Conor Grant, gaming director of Sky Betting & Gaming, said: “This acquisition makes what was already a close relationship even closer. CORE Gaming has been a key part of our mobile casino success story and we believe their unique position to understand our customers and build great content for our players will further drive our gaming business forward”.
Simon Lloydbottom, associate director at Orbis, who advised on the deal, added: “Given the already close relationship between CORE and Sky Betting & Gaming there is a natural strategic rationale for the deal.”
The Orbis team of Simon Lloydbottom and James Grenfell was supported by Andrew Cowan and Simon Gill of Gateley who provided legal advice. Sky Betting & Gaming was advised by Squire Patton Boggs, led by corporate partner Paul Mann, and BDO.
