Bally in $100m Dragonplay acquisition
Gaming software giant completes a $100m deal to acquire the Tel Aviv-based social casino operator
Bally Technologies is set to make its first major push into the social casino sector through a US$100m deal to acquire Dragonplay.
Sources told eGR this morning a deal had been struck between the pair following months of speculation regarding a potential sale of the social games developer.
The deal, which was first reported by Israeli daily business newspaper Calcalist this morning, is due to be completed next month.
“We expect this strategic acquisition to help position Bally at the forefront of social casino gaming by leveraging our world-class content, including proprietary table games and award-winning video slots, on Dragonplay’s increasingly popular social casino,” Bally’s CEO, Richard Haddrill, said.
“Additionally, with the majority of its revenues generated from smartphones and tablets, Dragonplay has proven remarkable foresight and leadership in the mobile space, which is the fastest growing segment of social gaming,” he added,
Dragonplay’s flagship product Live Hold’em Poker Pro is currently one of the most popular social poker apps in the sector with nearly one million monthly active users on Facebook and three million across all platforms.
Dragonplay generatied over $10m in EBITDA for the 12 months ended 31 March 2014.
“Both companies are committed to providing unique and stimulating content to players across the globe that enjoy playing entertaining casino-style games,” Dragonplay’s chief executive, Sharon Tal, said.
“I am confident that leveraging Bally’s vast library of proven slot and proprietary table game content will provide our loyal player base with an even more robust experience, which is expected to augment Dragonplay’s growth trajectory,” he added.
The deal follows a number of major deals in the social casino sector this year including the acquisition of Bingo Bash-developer Bash Gaming by GSN Games for an undisclosed fee.
Earlier this year Social Casino Intelligence exclusively reported that Playtika had completed its purchase of Israel-based social casino operator Pacific Interactive.