OpenBet remains independent despite Hills investment, says NYX chief

William Hill and Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G) will not receive any preferential treatment in return for their combined ?100m stake in new OpenBet owner NYX Gaming, its chief executive Matt Davey (pictured) has said.

Speaking to eGaming Review shortly after announcing its ?270m acquisition of the sportsbook provider, Davey said OpenBet customers, which include Ladbrokes, Paddy Power Betfair and Coral, were happy with assurances they would not be disadvantaged by the investments made by the two operator giants.

“It was very important to us that the strategic investment of both Hills and Sky Bet didn’t disenfranchise the existing [OpenBet] customers because it’s all very competitive,” Davey said.

“But those customers see the importance of preserving the technology as it’s a key part of their business strategy moving forward,” he added.

William Hill invested ?80m into NYX in return for a 19% stake in the business while SB&G stumped-up ?20m for a 5% shareholding. Both are long-term customers of OpenBet.

“We held customer meetings in which we were very keen to make certain the model we presented was a model they could support and feel comfortable with,” Davey said.

“The structure we put on the table was the least offensive to all stakeholders and probably the most attractive to all stakeholders as it maintains the independence of the supplier but it also offers the support of the existing customer base,” he added.

The chief exec was keen to stress the two investments hadn’t bought the pair a “special relationship” with OpenBet and that there would be no Hills or SB&G representation at board or management level.

“There is no director seat, no management seat, no access to confidential information – there’s absolutely nothing there that would give them any kind of competitive advantage,” Davey said.

In addition to its ?80m investment, Hills signed a new 10-year licensing deal and also pledged a further ?10m to fund a three-year project technology development scheme, a project which will see Hills and OpenBet work in tandem.

“There is nothing that prevents the other customers requesting exactly the same kind of project and we are very happy to support their initiatives as well,” Davey said.

Following the addition of OpenBet and its 2014-15 revenues of ?64.5m, sportsbook will make-up roughly 55% of the enlarged NYX business while the acquisition will also transformed NYX into a fully diversified business.

Davey said sports had for some time been the vertical he wanted to bring on board and admitted OpenBet had been a long-term target for the firm.

“I was always of the view that I didn’t want us to build our own technology around sports betting [and that] other people could do it better,” Davey said.

“So in terms of timing, I have coveted OpenBet as a business for many years and it was only really now the owners Vitruvian were happy to put it up for sale,” he added.

Davey confirmed the current OpenBet management team would stay in place with Jeremy Thompson-Hill to remain CEO of OpenBet.