Entain has increased its offer to acquire Enlabs by 32.5%, from SEK 40 per share to SEK 53 per share. The increased offer price is final and will not be increased by Entain.

Rob Wood, CFO and deputy CEO of Entain, said: “As a world leader in sports betting and gaming entertainment, Entain’s ambition is to revolutionise betting and gaming to create the most exciting and trusted entertainment for every customer.

In a highly competitive and regulated industry, where consolidation is a key theme, Entain is able to provide the scale and platform needed to further support Enlabs’ long-term growth, and we firmly believe that Entain will be the best home for Enlabs, its employees and customers. Against this background, we have decided to make a final offer of SEK 53 to all shareholders, providing an opportunity to exit their investment at a very attractive valuation.

We are pleased that shareholders with around 51 per cent have now irrevocably agreed to accept the offer and would urge other shareholders to do the same by 18 March.”

Enlabs has reported that revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 rose 82% to 20.3 million EUR. The uptick was driven by casino revenue with the number of active customers been 77,357, an increase of 88%.

Deposits were EUR 67.0 million, an increase of 99%. The betting margin was 4.7%. Adjusted net profit amounted to EUR 4.8 million.

George Ustinov, President and CEO of Enlabs, said: “We continued to increase the pace after a successful acquisition during Q3 and once again delivered a record quarter. All our markets showed growth between quarters, both in terms of activities and revenues. In our business development, most energy during the quarter was devoted to integrating the Global Gaming team into Enlab’s structure and operational processes.

The result of the integration process is a smoother, more unambiguous and adapted organization with a common business plan. In its team, Enlabs has gained know-how about the Nordic market and a global Pay & Play brand in its portfolio.

This means that I can say with certainty that Enlabs will be relaunched in Sweden in 2021 and the Ninja brand will be implemented in all operating markets. Enlabs has become a more perfect organization focused on two geographical regions with recognized merits, the Baltics and the Nordic countries, as well as our two flagships: the department store concept Optibet and Ninja with the pioneering concept Pay & Play.

Now we can proudly say that we are ONE company – Enlabs.”

Swedish state-owned gambling company Svenska Spel has signed a new sponsorship agreement with Skidförbundet, the Swedish Ski Association.

Svenska Spel will become the primary sponsor of Skidförbundet for five-years starting on 1 July 2021. The deal is worth just over SEK 125 million and will focus on investing in young talent.

“Svenska Spel has a long-term and large commitment to Swedish sports,” Ola Strömberg, Federal Director of Skidförbundet, said.

“Therefore, it feels very good to continue the collaboration that makes it possible to strengthen the Swedish Ski Association’s all ten branches. In Svenska Spel, we have a partner who will do everything to create the right conditions for our active members,” Ola Strömberg added.

“We are happy and proud to collaborate with the Swedish Ski Association. Skiing and snowboarding are popular and stand for many positive values. Here we find many of our most beloved national teams and athletes,” Patrik Hofbauer, President and CEO of Svenska Spel, said.

“As the country’s largest sports sponsor from grassroots to elite, we want to be involved and contribute to our national team skiers continuing to be successful and enable young talents to develop,” Patrik Hofbauer added.

“It is gratifying to be able to expand the collaboration with Svenska Spel, after getting to know each other for two years,” Karin Mattsson, Chairman of Skidförbundet, said.

“We know that Svenska Spel works hard to get more children and young people moving and on snow, and that is exactly what we and our activists are also passionate about. With a strong partner, we get an even better opportunity to reach out and inspire more people to experience real snow joy,” Karin Mattsson added.