Services agreement with East Pioneer Corporation

RNS Number : 1877Q

GVC Holdings PLC

14 October 2011

 



Press Release

14 October 2011

GVC Holdings PLC

Support services and other agreements with East Pioneer Corporation B.V. (East Pioneer) in relation to the Turkish language website, "www.superbahis.com"

GVC Sports B.V. (GVC Sports), a wholly owned subsidiary of GVC Holdings plc (GVC), has today entered into a business to business agreement (Services Agreement) with East Pioneer.  Under the Services Agreement, GVC Sports will provide East Pioneer with support services to enable it to operate the Turkish language website, "www.superbahis.com" (Business) that East Pioneer has today conditionally agreed to acquire from Sportingbet plc (Acquisition).

As part of that Acquisition, East Pioneer will acquire all customer facing assets of the Business including the related customer database and accounts and certain intellectual property and key employees.  In addition, key contracts will be assigned to East Pioneer where possible.  The consideration for the Acquisition will be deferred and dependent on the future profits of the Business.  It will be paid monthly in arrears and, subject to the Business continuing to perform in line with current expectations, it is expected to total a minimum of €142.5 million (£125 million) over a four to six year period.

The support services to be provided by GVC Sports to East Pioneer will include sports book and back end functionality.  In consideration for providing these services, GVC Sports will be entitled to a monthly fee.

As a term of the Services Agreement between GVC Sports and East Pioneer, GVC has agreed to guarantee the performance of East Pioneer's obligations to Sportingbet in connection with the Acquisition and has therefore entered into the acquisition agreement alongside East Pioneer as its guarantor.

In view of the significance of the Services Agreement and GVC's guarantee of East Pioneer's obligations under the terms of the Acquisition, GVC will publish an Admission Document pursuant to Rule 14 of the AIM Rules and the Acquisition and the Services Agreement will be subject to the approval of GVC's shareholders.  GVC will therefore issue a circular comprising an Admission Document (Circular) to its shareholders disclosing further information on the terms of the Acquisition and the Services Agreement and convening a general meeting for the purposes of seeking shareholder approval.  The Circular is expected to be published on or around 31 October 2011, whereupon GVC will seek a restoration of trading in its shares on AIM.

The Acquisition is also conditional upon the approval of Sportingbet plc's shareholders.

The GVC directors believe that the Services Agreement will:

·	provide a significant enhancement to GVC's future earnings per share and dividend paying capability; and
·	start to diversify GVC's business into B2B services and away from its pure gaming operations.

- Ends -

For further information:

GVC Holdings plc
Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive	Tel: [phone]
Richard Cooper, Group Finance Director	www.gamingvc.com

Daniel Stewart & Company	Tel: [phone]
Paul Shackleton / David Hart / Jamie Barklem	www.danielstewart.co.uk

Media enquiries:

Abchurch
Henry Harrison-Topham / Oliver Hibberd	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]	www.abchurch-group.com

About GVC Holdings PLC

GVC Holdings is a leading online gaming company.  The Group is incorporated in the Isle of Man and is licensed in Malta, and the Netherlands Antilles.

In December 2004, the shares of Gaming VC Holdings S.A., GVC's predecessor company, were admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.  The GVC Group has never transacted wagering activity by players in the US.  Further information on the Group is available at www.gamingvc.com.

This announcement contains certain statements that are or may be "forward-looking statements". These statements typically contain words such as "intends", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates" and words of similar import. All the statements other than statements of historical facts included in this announcement including, without limitation, those regarding GVC's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and therefore undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements. There are a number of factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of GVC to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding GVC's present and future business strategies and the environment in which GVC will operate in the future and such assumptions may or may not prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements speak only as at the date they are made. Neither GVC, nor Daniel Stewart & Company nor any other person undertakes any obligation to update publicly any of the information contained in this announcement, including any forward-looking statements, in the light of new information, change in circumstances or future events.

 

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