Evolution has completed its acquisition of game developer Big Time Gaming.
The Stockholm-based live casino provider, formerly known as Evolution Gaming, announced this week that it’s completed its purchase of Big Time Gaming after signing an agreement to acquire the studio back in April for a total consideration of €450 million.
Evolution will pay an up-front consideration of €220 million as a combination of €80 million in cash and newly issued Evolution shares.
According to Yogonet, the subscription price in the issue equals $150per share, which is equivalent to the volume-weighted average price of the Evolution share on Nasdaq Stockholm between the period of March 23 and April 7, 2021.
The news comes after Evolution acquired game developer NetEnt in December 2020 and its subsidiary Red Tiger Gaming. The live casino provider also purchased fellow live casino provider Ezugi in 2018.
Speaking on acquisitions, gambling operator Kindred Group has fully acquired game aggregator Relax Gaming after purchasing the remaining shares.
Relax Gaming was founded in 2010, and Kindred Group has been the largest shareholder in the studio since 2013, holding 33.4% of shares. This week, however, Kindred Group has acquired the remaining 66.6% of shares in the company to fully acquire it.
According to CasinoBeats, the total value for all remaining shares totals €295 million, which will be split into an initial consideration of €80 million in cash, paid on completion, and two earn-out payments of up to €113 million, which is payable in 2022 and 2023.
All existing employee share option programs in Relax Gaming will be exercised, while Relax Gaming’s management will retain ownership of around 7% of total fully diluted shares while Kindred Group will own 93%.
Kindred Group will keep Relax Gaming as a separate entity within its group, operating with its own board of directors and management team. The gambling operator plans to continue to invest in Relax Gaming to cement itself as a leading game provider within the gambling industry.
Kindred Chief Executive Henrik Tjärnström said in a statement: “Through this acquisition, we add a rapidly growing and profitable B2B business with a world-class product portfolio, giving us greater control over our casino, poker and bingo offering, putting Kindred in a significantly better position to achieve our long-term strategy to increase our focus on product differentiation and customer experience.”
Relax Gaming Co-founder and Chairman Patrik Österåker added: “Joining Kindred Group comes as a natural next step in our long-standing cooperation with Kindred across all our product verticals. Kindred’s strengthened presence will allow Relax Gaming to further invest in and accelerate the expansion of our B2B offering across the globe.
“We will continue the Relax Gaming journey as a separate B2B entity with unchanged product portfolio and overall strategy, staying true to our values and respecting the hard-earned trust of our customers.”
Game developer Wazdan has celebrated its successful launch in New Jersey has announced a further expansion within the US state.
Back in May, Wazdan was given approval by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to launch a selection of its online casino games within the state of New Jersey, including Magic Stars 3, Magic Fruits Deluxe, Larry The Laptechain, Power Of Gods: The Pantheon, and more.
Now, a further 10 slot titles are being certified to launch in the state, including its Hold The Jackpot games, and Wazdan is looking to expand its presence within the US by attending a G2E event in Las Vegas later this year and forming partnerships with US-based iGaming firms.
Andrzej Hyla, the Chief Commercial Officer at Wazdan, said in a statement to FocusGN: “We’ve been live in New Jersey for a number of weeks now and our games have been hugely well received by New Jersey players.
“It gives us huge amounts of confidence as we look to expand in North America, with more games set to be certified in the state and a number of commercial deals in the works. We’re delighted with our progress so far and with numerous exciting milestones on the horizon, we hope to keep this momentum going for a long time to come in the United States.”
Meanwhile, fellow game developer Yggdrasil has announced the release of a brand new slot in partnership with independent studio 4ThePlayer under its YG Masters programme.
The studios’ combined new slot, titled 12 Trojan Mysteries, is based on the fall of Troy via the famous Trojan Horse. The slot uses a 6×4 layout with 4,096 paylines, and it has an RTP of 96.5% with high variance, which means players are likely to make infrequent large wins.
12 Trojan Mysteries includes numerous high-quality slots and is jam-packed with special features. For example, Trojan Horse symbols reveal other paying symbols to create epic wins.
Meanwhile, the Free Spins mode has a Mystery Symbol Booster meter to enhance Trojan Horse symbols, guaranteeing that they reveal the top-paying symbol. The game also allows players to purchase the Free Spins mode with its Buy Feature, and it supports a Big Reel Portrait Mode too.
Stuart McCarthy, the Head of Product and Programs at Yggdrasil, said: “12 Trojan Mysteries takes one of the most exciting tales in human history and brings it to life on the reels. 4ThePlayer has a great track record of creating great games as a YG Masters partner and we look forward to seeing how this latest title performs.”
Chris Ash, the Founder and Business Development Director at 4ThePlayer, added: “Our relationship with Yggdrasil is incredibly strong and we’re delighted to roll out our newest creation across their operator network.
“12 Trojan Mysteries offers players exciting, engaging gameplay, huge win potential and an immersive environment and we’re extremely proud of what we’ve developed.”
12 Trojan Mysteries is the latest video slot to launch under Yggdrasil’s YG Masters programme, following the release of Gargoyle Infinity Reels, Kray Klimber, Crazy Mix, HLotsa Lines, HippoPop, and numerous others.
