32Red Online Casino Asserts Superiority by Acquiring Roxy Palace for £8.4 Million
Roxy Palace one of Microgaming-branded online casinos that have been operating since the early days of Internet-based gambling, has apparently buckled down from the pressures posed by the changing regulatory landscape. Despite having more than 230,000 registered customers that brought net gaming revenues of £10.1 million in 2014, and a resulting Gross Profit of £3.4 million with an EBITDA of £1.6 million, the parent company of Roxy Palace, Hyperlink Media Ltd and Applied Logics Ltd. have decided to cash in by selling Roxy Palace to 32Red PLC.
The contracting parties have agreed at a total selling price of £8.4 million, for which 32Red PLC will pay £2 million in cash and 10,000,000 shares valued at 0.64 pence per share. In return, Eucalyptus Investment, Hyperlink’s subsidiary and holding company of Roxy Palace’s shares, will cede ownership of Roxy Palace’s Intellectual Property rights, customer database, and the related assets used in running the online casino business. Part of the agreed terms includes retaining the services provided by other companies affiliated with Hyperlink Media Ltd and Applied Logics Ltd.
Inasmuch as Roxy Palace uses the same gaming platform furnished by pioneer software provider Microgaming, 32Red PLC expects immediate accretive effects, as the difficulty level anticipated in Roxy Palace’s integration is very low. Moreover, the cost savings, which 32Red PLC will gain from the acquisition deal, will enable the multi-licensed online casino operator to continue the growth trend it has been experiencing consistently for the past five years.
Holding licenses issued by the Gibraltar Gaming Commission, by Italy’s Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato (AAMS), and lately by the UK Gambling Commission, 32Red PLC will soon add Roxy Palace to its roster of online gambling facilities comprising 32RedBingo, 32RedPoker, 32RedSport, DashCasino, GoldenLounge, and NedPlay.
32Red PLC CEO and founder, Edward Ware succeeded in growing 32Red PLC from its very roots as a start up online casino company, which he established in 2000 with the help of friends and associates. CEO Ware is a former Managing Director of Ladbrokes before venturing on his own to pursue his vision of running an independent online casino company, which he and his team of talented manager will grow into becoming one of the most revered operators in the global online gambling industry.
Naturally, CEO Ed Ware expressed delight in having acquired Roxy Palace, as he and his team strongly believe the deal would benefit both new and existing 32Red shareholders. He added that throughout the years, they have known and respected Roxy Palace since they share common values, while using the same Microgaming platform.
32Red PLC’s Impressive 2014 Performance
In 2014, 32Red PLC reported total Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) amounting to £31 million, which indicated growth of 25 percent when compared to its previous year’s NGR of £24.8 million. The resulting Gross Profit (GRN less Cost of Sales) of £11.9 million and EBITDA of £5.4 million indicated consistent growth at 42 percent and 41 percent, respectively. The company continued to reflect impressive and consistent growth rate by presenting Net Taxable Income of £3.4 million as bottom line figure, which is almost 48 percent higher than the previous year’s £2.3 million.
According to 32Red website, most of their online gaming customers are based in the UK and engage in a wide range of real money online casino games. At the 32RedPoker website alone, which the company runs in collaboration with Prima Network, more than 500,000 players compete in 32Red’s cash games and tournaments.
