Novibet Merging with SPAC Artemis Strategic Investment in $625M Deal

Posted on: March 31, 2022, 11:35h. 

Last updated on: March 31, 2022, 11:56h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Logflex MT Holding Limited, the parent company of Novibet, is merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and will list its shares in the US when that transaction is finalized.

Novibet
The Nasdaq market site in New York, seen above. Novibet will list after that a SPAC merger. (Image: The Verge)

Artemis Strategic Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTE) is merging into a newly formed unit of the gaming company in a deal sporting a pre-transaction enterprise valuation of $625 million. The SPAC’s founders and current Novibet investors will own 75% of the new publicly traded firm when the merger is completed.

Malta-based Novibet currently offers iGaming and sports wagering services in its home nation and in Greece, Ireland and Italy. The company is profitable, which cannot be said of many sportsbook operators, and rapidly growing.

Novibet has grown gross gaming revenue at a compound annual rate of approximately 107% for the full year ended December 31, 2021, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) during this period increasing at a compound annual rate of approximately 182%, according to a statement.

The company says the value of each of its users was $617 last year — up 69% over 12 months.

Novibet Eyeing Global Expansion

Novibet said proceeds from the blank-check deal would fund global expansion efforts, including Europe, Latin America, and North America.

In Europe, the operator sees a $29 billion-plus total addressable market opportunity by 2026. It is also looking to expand beyond the quartet of aforementioned nations to Sweden, the Netherlands, Romania, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, France, and Spain via partnerships or mergers and acquisitions.

Additionally, gaming companies are expanding in Latin America, confirming that operators see opportunity in the region. Analysts believe the combined online gross gaming revenue (GGR) in just Colombia and Mexico could eventually swell to $700 million. Novibet sees a more than $4 billion opportunity in the region.

“Novibet believes it is close to finalizing a market access agreement for Mexico with a land-based operator and is seeking to enter additional Latin American markets (Peru, Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina) via a joint venture partnership or through strategic, accretive mergers and acquisitions,” said the operator in the statement.

Bullish Outlook

While SPAC fever cooled a bit in the gaming space, due in large part to dramatic share price declines for deSPACed firms, Novibet is clearly testing the waters and its fortunes could be different than those of its predecessors.

Additionally, the company is forecasting 2023 net gaming revenue of $200 million on EBITDA of $37 million.

In North America, Novibet has an agreement to provide iGaming in Pennsylvania, and is pursuing similar licensing in Ontario, Canada. The operator also expects to launch online casinos and sports wagering in New Jersey in the first half of 2023, and is looking to roll out internet casinos and/or sports betting in Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri in 2023 or 2024.