Evolution to Pay €340 Million for NoLimit City

The publicly traded parent company of Evolution Malta Holding Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stockholm's Evolution AB, disclosed late last week that the business had reached a deal for a full takeover of NoLimit City, a leading provider of premium online casino games.

With an initial cash payment of €200 million and potential cash earnout payments of an additional €140 million, the transaction might be worth up to €340 million. The all-cash acquisition did not include any shares.

The acquisition is in keeping with Evolution's long-term plan to top the industry in both supply and delivery of online casino games. Beginning as a provider of live dealer casino games, Evolution later purchased Big Time Gaming, Red Tiger, and NetEnt, the creator and license holder of all Megaways slot games.

NoLimit City's inclusion is a natural fit because the company has carved out a distinct market for itself in the gaming industry with creative, occasionally amusing slots in various math models. The titles in the catalog, which include well-known games like San Quentin, East Coast/West Coast, and the high volatility player favorite, Mental, feature well-developed graphics, themes, and animations.

Points of Interest in the Deal and Strategy

Uncertainty exists around whether the development would affect Evolution's 2022 game release roadmap, which was already on schedule to see the release of 88 new games across all brands.

"With the addition of Nolimit City to the Evolution family, we increase our portfolio of really unique and cutting edge games from the top brands and game developers in the industry," said Evolution's chairman, Jens von Bahr. For a few years, we have followed Jonas, Emil, and their group.

been astounded by how they created a brand-new genre of slot games. I'm happy to see that yet another one of the top minds in our field has decided to join the Evolution network.

With NoLimit City providing €30m in revenue and €23m in EBITDA for the year, the purchase is anticipated to have a beneficial impact on earnings per share.

"I cannot imagine a greater match between two businesses than between Nolimit City and Evolution; we are entirely aligned in terms of people, product, technology, and how to get the job done," said Jonas Tegman, co-founder of Nolimit City. The slot sector is going through a lot of change, so we can't wait to work with Evolution to take on the challenge of worldwide expansion while guiding them toward the greatest slot product offering on the market.

Evolution will pay out €200m in debt-free cash and make the payment using cash on hand as part of the deal's financing. Based on Nolimit City's EBITDA for 2022, 2023, and 2024, additional €140 million could be distributed over the next three years, with payments being due in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

On the Evolution website, you can get a PDF with a complete breakdown of the terms (here).

Upon receiving regulatory permissions, the transaction is anticipated to happen in the third quarter of this year. Currently, NoLimit City is accredited by the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission, the Romanian ONJN, and is authorized by AGCO in Ontario, Canada.