Amaya revenues increase six-fold following PokerStars deal
Toronto-based firm reveals it has sold its Ongame B2B poker network to NYX Gaming
Amaya Gaming’s $4.9bn acquisition of PokerStars’ parent company the Rational Group helped drive a massive 513% increase in group revenues in the third quarter of 2014, with the firm also announcing the sale of its B2B Ongame business to NYX Gaming.
In its first set of results since the acquisition was completed on 1 August, the Canadian company’s total revenues for the three months ended 30 September were CA$239m, up from $39m in Q3 2013.
Adjusted EBITDA was $108.4m for the quarter, leading to a net loss of $26.5m, compared with a loss of $1.6m during the same period last year. Total acquisition related costs were $12.1m for the period, up from $845,000 in Q3 2013.
Total expenses were up 530% from $34m in Q3 2013 to $214.4m driven by general and administrative expenses resulting from the consolidation of Amaya’s B2B business and its Diamond Game acquisition, plus non-recurring acquisition costs related to the Rational Group takeover.
Amaya CEO David Baazov said the acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt had “transformed Amaya” and had set the stage for “future growth”, although no figures were given for performance by brand or division.
“In these early days I could not be happier with the initial performance of the business and the professionalism and expertise of the PokerStars management team,” Baazov said.
“They are implementing strategic plans that leverage exciting, innovative poker variants, new gaming verticals and the mobile platform to increase engagement and new customer acquisition,” he added.
Amaya also revealed that half of all new customer acquisitions for PokerStars were coming through mobile, up from 40% the previous year. The firm also said it plans to launch additional casino games on PokerStars in 2015, after introducing blackjack and roulette in Spain during the quarter.
The company confirmed the sale of its Ongame B2B poker business to NYX Gaming for up to 8x Ongame’s 2015 EBITDA, less any required working capital, as the firm looks to focus on its B2C poker operations. The transaction is expected to complete by the end of the month.
Under the deal, Amaya said it would make a $10m “strategic investment” in NYX Gaming Group and would also expand its partnership with NYX subsidiary NextGeb Gaming, which supplies Amaya with online slots content.
Next year will also see the rollout of a mobile casino platform, plus the long-awaited sportsbook launch, which Amaya said would drive new player acquisition and position the company for “profitable growth in 2016 and beyond”.
Amaya also confirmed its full year financial targets, estimating revenues of $669m to $715m with predicted adjusted EBITDA of $86m to $285m.
The results come days after Amaya was linked to a $1.2bn takeover of bwin.party after bwin.party released a statement to confirm it was in talks over a potential sale of the business and assets.