Playtech Limited : Acquisition of Geneity Limited

Playtech Limited

('Playtech' or the 'Company')

Acquisition of Geneity Limited

Playtech, (AIM: PTEC) the international designer, developer and licensor of software and services for the online, mobile and land-based gaming industry, announces that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of Geneity Limited ('Geneity'), a UK based provider of e-gaming software products, focused primarily on the sportsbook and lottery sectors, for an initial cash consideration of £11 million (subject to a working capital adjustment), of which £4 million will be held in escrow for 30 months. 

A further £4 million in cash will be payable subject to certain agreed deliverables to be provided by Geniety.

Geneity which is based in Chiswick, has over 20 full time employees, mostly engaged in software development and support, and was formed in 2006. Geneity currently provides its sportsbook software to Gala Coral, which is contracted through to the end of 2012 and its lottery software to the Health Lottery. Its other clients include Betfair, Ladbrokes and other UK bookmakers. In the year to 31 March 2011, Geneity had unaudited revenues of £2.3 million and unaudited profits before tax of £0.82 million.

The acquisition is strategically significant as it brings a modern, proven, robust and scaleable sports betting platform as well as lottery capabilities to Playtech's suite of gaming products, together with a well-respected team of experienced sportsbook developers with many years of in-depth industry expertise. The Geneity sportsbook product will replace the Company's existing offering and Playtech expects to achieve cost savings through the replacement.

The Geneity sportsbook product will enable Playtech to have a stronger offering in regulated markets, where the ability to offer a high quality sportbook platform is increasingly important for market penetration. In addition, following the acquisition last year of the Mobenga mobile sportsbook platform, Playtech sees opportunities to integrate the products and to cross-sell to its wide customer base.

Mor Weizer, Chief Executive Officer of Playtech commented:

"Sportsbook is often the prime entry point for companies into online gaming. Over the past year the pace of change in the sportsbook segment led us to believe that we needed to acquire experienced developers to immediately give us a market leading capability. Geneity will deliver a range of features key to Playtech's sportsbook, such as in-play betting and a broader range of sports on which to wager."

Will Slater, Managing Director of Geneity commented:

"Geneity is delighted to be joining the Playtech family, the synergies between the respective companies and products is very strong. At Geneity we've created a highly advanced sportsbetting platform with integrated in-play algorithms, per channel pricing and a scalable and modular architecture. It's very exciting to be able to offer our sportsbetting platform to a wider audience alongside Playtech's existing best of breed products."

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Further information

About Playtech

Playtech develops unified software platforms and content for the online and land-based gaming industry, together with providing a range of ancillary services such as marketing, hosting and CRM services.

Leading gaming applications include casino, poker, bingo, sports betting, live gaming, casual and fixed odds games. Playtech provides licensees with the tools to maximise cross-selling opportunities, player loyalty and yield, all through the powerful management interface - the IMS. The Group's capabilities enable the delivery of an integrated software or turnkey solution, with players accessing online, broadcast, mobile and server-based gaming terminals through a single account.

New licensees include existing online operators upgrading or diversifying their offering, land-based casino groups, government sponsored entities such as lotteries, and new entrants making their online gaming debut, particularly in newly-regulated markets.

Founded in 1999, Playtech has some 1,000 employees located in development centres in five countries, the majority of whom are engaged in research and development of current and future gaming technologies, together with 900 employees providing ancillary services.