Kambi Group plc, the industry’s trusted sports betting partner, has strengthened its sports betting business with the acquisition of award-winning front-end technology specialist Shape Games for an upfront payment of €38.5 million. The acquisition also includes performance gains of up to 39.6 million euros, and the total consideration may increase to 78.1 million euros, all in cash.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Shape Games is an industry-leading front-end provider focused on increasing customer engagement and retention by delivering customizable, fully native front-end technology to leading operators in regulated markets. Shape Games’ growing roster of partners includes Danske Spil and Norsk Tipping, as well as Kambi partners BetWarrior and JACK Entertainment, each operator leveraging Shape Games’ technology to deliver a highly differentiated user experience.
Deal Highlights and Strategic Rationale
Shape Games’ fully native front-end technology complements Kambi’s robust sports betting and existing front-end capabilities, creating a compelling proposition that will greatly enhance Kambi’s capabilities in the mobile space, which accounts for the vast majority of sports betting revenue. Together, Kambi and Shape Games will enable operators to offer their players an exciting custom sports betting experience like never before.
The sports betting front end has become a key tool for operators to effectively differentiate their brands, localize their offerings and attract players to increase acquisition and retention. Not only does Shape Games provide a best-in-class front end, but its complementary customer retention features, including personalization, loyalty, stats and free-to-play games, provide operators with the opportunity to drive incremental growth and revenue.
The acquisition builds on an established partnership between the two companies. Kambi and Shape Games worked together successfully during the bidding process to secure a turnkey contract, and Kambi believes the closer ties created by this agreement will ultimately lead to greater commercial success for both parties.
The addition of Shape Games marks another important step in Kambi’s strategy as it extends Kambi’s excellence in the sports betting value chain and allows front-end delivery through turnkey or modular packages. As such, Shape Games will continue to provide services to all operators independently, but closer technical and commercial integration with Kambi will allow it to provide enhanced services to Kambi’s current and future partners. In 2021, Shape Games achieved sales of 7.6 million euros and EBITDA of 2.8 million euros, which is expected to grow 100% year-on-year in 2022 after winning several major partners.
Kristian Nylen, Kambi Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder commented:
“I’ve always been clear on our intention to acquire technology and talent that will complement and enhance our sportsbook proposition, and I have no doubt Shape Games will do just that. Having worked closely with Shape Games and its experienced team over recent years, I have seen first-hand how their technology enables operators to extract the full value of the Kambi sportsbook and provides the level of control operators require to deliver bespoke experiences to their players. While Shape Games will continue to grow and offer services on a standalone basis in line with our plans to offer a suite of modularised products, it is the ability to offer a combination of Kambi’s and Shape Games’ technology to our partners which really excites us and solidifies our position as the clear leader within the sports betting ecosystem.”
Shape Games Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Christian Risom, said:
“We are very happy to join forces with the leading sportsbook provider of the industry. Shape Games and Kambi have been working closely side by side for years now and it is exciting to take this partnership to new levels. Together we will have an unmatched sports betting and casino offering for any market in the world, be it on mobile and web or in retail. Kambi’s modular approach to the market allows us to form a profound and tight-knit integration with their sportsbook all the while pursuing opportunities with other sportsbook partners. From our perspective, this represents the best of both worlds for any customer out there. For me personally, the years we have worked with Kambi were a clear testament to the cultural match between the two organisations as both have a deeply rooted focus on best-in-class technology, customer experience and integrity in everything we do. It has always been great working alongside Kambi as collaborators and I am certain that what lies ahead is even greater.”
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Source: Igaming
