Nio acquires Guts.com owner Gaming Innovation Group

Nio Inc. has signed a deal to acquire Guts.com parent company Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) as part of plans to create a leading European online gambling firm.

The deal, which is subject to shareholder approval, will see the entire issued share capital of GiG shares exchanged for 290 million new shares issued by Oslo-listed Nio, which also owns gaming start-up Candid Gaming.

GiG is the holding company of a number of egaming firms including online casino Guts.com, platform supplier iGamingCloud and marketing firm Innovation Labs, and will become a 100% subsidiary of Nio with its management team to retain their current roles.

The combined company will pool resources and capabilities to focus on developing proprietary technology and applications for the European B2C and B2B egaming markets and said it will explore further consolidation opportunities in the future.

“GiG is teaming up with Nio with a clear vision – combining valuable [egaming] knowledge and experience to create a platform for investments in industry leading people, products and services”, Robin Reed, managing director of GIG, said.

In a statement, Nio said it would focus on its B2C operators Guts.com, BetSpin.com and Rzk.com in the short-term while targeting long-term growth from the development of new sports betting products.

Nio-owned Candid Gaming recently launched BetSpin.com in selected Nordic markets, ahead of a full launch later this month, and is powered by GiG’s new iGamingCloud platform.