LeoVegas triggers €10m share repurchase plan

The LeoVegas board of directors will exercise an option to repurchase shares in the business with a value of €10m (£8.6m). The share repurchases, which can be carried out on one or more occasions before the firm’s 2022 AGM, amount to 10% of the total number of shares in the business at a maximum of 10,165,297 shares. All repurchases will be made in cash and at a price within the range of the highest purchase price and lowest selling price for the shares on Nasdaq Stockholm at any given time. Shares can only be repurchased at a maximum of 25% (with the exception of block trades) of the average daily trading volume in the shares on Nasdaq Stockholm on any given trading day. The Malta-headquartered operator has revealed the share repurchase plan aims to “optimise” the company’s capital structure and create additional shareholder value by reducing the total number of outstanding shares. In addition, LeoVegas has said the repurchased shares could be used as payment for “potential” future M&A activity. Q1 proved a productive period for LeoVegas in respect of M&A activity after sealing a €5m deal to acquire Sweden-facing sports betting brand Expekt, as well as agreeing to purchase its own in-house games studio Blue Guru Games. The operator also invested in start-up SharedPlay through its LeoVentures business. Speaking to EGR about the frenetic Q1 and the potential for further M&A in subsequent quarters, LeoVegas group CEO Gustaf Hagman said: “I always expected to be very busy, maybe not as busy as in Q1, because we’ve done a lot of product and tech acquisitions and development in Q1, but it will continue. “We are looking into potential M&A and of course there’s a lot of small operators out there that can’t stand the regulations, so there are a lot of things happening all the time,” Hagman added.