Paddy Power pays £101m for stake in Georgia’s biggest online betting firm
Paddy Power has landed a majority stake in Georgia's biggest online gambling firm, it revealed today.
Britain's gambling giant paid £101m for the controlling share, saying the purchase will give it access to burgeoning new markets.
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Adjarabet enjoys a 40 per cent market share in Georgian digital betting revenues, and 10 per cent of the emerging Armenian market.
The Georgian online gambling market has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 40 per cent per year since 2016 to a value of £180m last year.
Chief executive Peter Jackson said: "This bolt-on acquisition is in line with our strategy of establishing podium positions in attractive online markets.
"Adjarabet's leading brand presence and strong management team has established it as the clear number one in the fast-growing, regulated online Georgian market.
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"Together with our group's technology and sports capabilities, we are confident that Adjarabet will be strongly positioned to continue to build on this success."
Paddy Power will have the option to pay seven times the value of Adjarabet's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisatio (Ebitda) for the remaining 49 per cent stake in 2021.