Broadcasting giant Sky has confirmed that it has sold a majority share in its subsidiary firm Sky Betting and Gaming to private equity group CVC Capital Partners for a deal believed to be worth £800 million.
CVC Capital Partners have confirmed that Sky will still hold a minority share in the new firm as a result of the deal, estimated to be worth the equivalent of $1.25 billion or €1 billion, allowing it to still have a say in how the business is run in the coming months.
The multi-million pound deal is set to be one of the biggest takeover deals in 2014 for the gaming industry and follows Scientific Games’ $5.1 billion takeover of slots developer Bally Technologies just over a week ago.
Sky Vegas has become an integral part of the Sky Betting and Gaming subsidiary with the casino offering a number of titles from top slots developers including a range of slots from the Scientific Games subsidiary company WMS Gaming and Las Vegas-based developer IGT.
The new company Chief Executive Richard Flint said “Over the last 7 years, Sky Betting and Gaming has grown rapidly to become one of the UK’s leading online betting and gaming operators, achieved through the hard work of our employees and valuable support of Sky and Sky Sports.”
“Looking forward, we have exciting growth opportunities, both in the UK and internationally. Today’s transaction brings in CVC as a new majority investor who will support us in the next phase of our development, and retains the benefits of Sky’s and Sky Sports’ continuing involvement.”
Flint added “When we moved across from Harrogate to Leeds in 2010 we were confident that this city was the perfect place to develop our business. We’re even more certain that with the wealth of technology talent and knowledge in the Yorkshire area, as well as the historical links to sport, this is the perfect place to start the next chapter in the Sky Betting and Gaming success story.”
Sky Vegas has yet to confirm if there will be a change in the casino software, but it is expected that top titles like the ultra-popular Cleopatra slot and the Novomatic slot Lucky Lady’s Charm will stay.
