William Hill owner, evoke, has confirmed the acquisition of New Gambling Solutions (NGS), which operates Winner.ro, an online betting and gaming operator in Romania.

evoke will inject its Romania business plus a cash consideration of €10m on, a debt-free, cash-free basis, in exchange for a 51% share in the enlarged Romania business, bringing together 888.ro with Winner.

Based on a 2026 earn-out calculation, evoke will own between 51% and 57% of the business, with an option at its sole discretion to increase ownership to 100% from the third anniversary of completion.

evoke, which also owns brands 888 and Mr Green, stated that the Romanian market was worth approximately €1.1bn in net revenue in 2023 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 13% between 2023 and 2026.

The move will see Romania become evoke's fifth core market, joining the UK, Italy, Spain and Denmark.

evoke CEO, Per Widerström, commented: “This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to build sustainable market-leading profitable positions in the most attractive markets. It is also consistent with our M&A strategy to focus on low-capital, high-impact combinations that accelerate the delivery of our strategy.

“We have enjoyed significant success in Romania, which is an exciting growth market. This combination will cement a leading position for evoke, and I am looking forward to working with the whole team at Winner to deliver ongoing profitable growth and market share gains, as we deliver exceptional products through two incredibly strong and complementary brands.”

Winner CEO, Nicklas Zajdel, added: “Romania is a high-growth market, and this combination sets us on the path to a sustainable, profitable, market-leading position.”

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