South African company Multichoice paid R1.3 billion ($81 million), and may still make more payments of R500 million, to acquire a 20% stake in the Nigerian sports bet company BetKing.
It was announced on Thursday that the Multichoice bought the shares to expand the group’s entertainment industry.
In a brief interim statement, it stated that the first payments were an upfront investment with Multichoice valuing BetKing at a minimum of R6.5billion ($31 million). The additional payment was dependent on earn-out targets which is undisclosed and lasting till the end of 2023.
BetKing which has been described by Multichoice as Pan-African and has, however, only had significant betting operations in Nigeria and Ethiopia. As of June 2020, they began operations in Kenya and bagged a sponsorship deal in the soccer league.
In South Africa, Multichoice has built an agent network, with more than 8,000 workers in a commission structured network that offers shop owners up to 30% of transactions through the equipment used to provide services, and payment is made within 24 hours.
High commission payments are only obtainable when agents push punters to place bets on high-risk games.
Multichoice CEO, Calvo Mawela, during a news briefing said that:
We have a lot of sport on our platform, and many people that are betting watch more games.
“They plan to be pan-African and will be entering South Africa at some stage too,”
The company also stated that the deal is intent on pushing forward the revenue prospects by introducing new products and services that will create more growth opportunities.
However, Multichoice has no intention of making continuous payments to hold rights on European soccer. The partnership with BetKing is expected to push more prominent African players into the gambling industry. With the positive growth in the gambling industry in Nigeria because of its youthful population and steady advance in technology, the country is becoming one of the most important betting markets in Africa.
SiGMA website adds French as its 6th language:
SiGMA Group is excited to announce the addition of a 6th language to its website. Users can now find all content, including the SiGMA News website, in French. The latest addition to SiGMA’s portfolio of languages will run alongside the recently launched Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Portuguese content, and aims to cater to SiGMA’s wide portfolio of international events.
