Cherry AB acquires online casino and sports betting operator ComeOn Malta

Swedish online betting operator Cherry AB has taken steps to boost its Nordic market presence by acquiring the parent company of online casino and sports betting site ComeOn.com.

Last week, Cherry halted trading in its shares on Stockholm’s AktieTorget exchange after the stock’s value rose 25% in the past two weeks. On Thursday, Cherry announced that it was in the “final stages of a major acquisition.”

On Monday, Cherry confirmed that it had reached a deal to acquire a 49% stake in ComeOn Malta Ltd with an option to acquire the remaining 51%. ComeOn holds licenses in Malta, the UK and Curacao, and operates brands including ComeOn.com, Mobilbet.com, CasinoStugan.com, folkeautomaten.com, Suomikasino.com, GetLucky.com and Kasyno.pl. The sites boasted a combined active customer list of over 133k as of December 2015.

Cherry has agreed to pay a maximum total consideration of €280m for the whole ComeOn enchilada. The figure is based on a multiple of 10x ComeOn’s 2016 operating profit, which Cherry estimates will come in between €19m and €23m. ComeOn’s 2015 operating profit was €13m, which represented a 70% rise over 2014’s profit. ComeOn reported total sales of nearly €80m in 2015, up 60% from 2014.