Paddy Power Betfair has announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in Georgian gambling company Adjarabet for €116 million.
The company said in a note to Euronext Dublin on Friday that it had acquired 51 per cent in the Georgian market leader and expects to buy the remainder of the company after three years through agreed option arrangements, The Irish Times reports.
Adjarabet is licensed to offer a full suite of online betting and gaming products in Georgia, including casino, sports, poker and peer-to-peer games. It holds an estimated 40 per cent share of total online revenues.
Paddy Power Betfair said a “key component” of this was the strength of the Adjarabet brand which has a about 86 per cent spontaneous brand awareness amongst the Georgian population, which is “significantly higher” than competing brands.
This brand presence is driven in part by the business’s exclusive long-term marketing relationship with Adjaranet, the leading Georgian media website.
During 2017, the operation launched in the developing regulated Armenian online market, winning about 10 per cent share of that market by the end of 2018.
Adjarabet generated revenues of 215 million Georgian lari (€73 million) last year and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (ebitda) of 68 million lari (€23 million).