NeoGames has detailed further progress on its acquisition of Aspire Global, announcing the competition of a previously announced tender offer. 

The $480m transaction is now expected to finalise on 11 August 2022, with 99.31% of Aspire’s shares tendered so far. NeoGames had extended its acceptance period for Aspire shareholders to 14 June, with the expected settlement date set for the end of the month. 

Subsequently, Aspire’s remaining outstanding shares will be subject to a squeeze-out proceeding, which is expected to be completed by the aforementioned date in early-mid August.

“We are thrilled to complete this strategic transaction with the Aspire Global team, and to commence working on identifying potential opportunities to capitalise on the merger of our platforms,” said Moti Malul, CEO of NeoGames. 

“With this transaction, we are combining our two companies with a goal to create a leading global provider in interactive content, proprietary technology as well as gaming operations, tapping into a potential total addressable market of $74bn, according to H2 Gambling Capital, which is estimated across all elements of ilottery, online sports betting and igaming verticals for 2021.”

It was announced on Wednesday that Aspire’s Board was moving ahead with a delisting of the firm’s stocks from the Nasdaq First North Premier to facilitate NeoGames’ full takeover. 

The B2B igaming solution’s provider’s board has been unanimously supportive of the proposed merger since the bid was announced.

“We believe this strategic combination will generate long-term shareholder value by synergistically capitalising on the key strengths of our two companies and will help position NeoGames for expansion in new and existing markets,” Malul added. 

“By integrating our market-leading platform and scalable position within the rapidly expanding global ilottery market, with Aspire Global’s proprietary sports betting platform, BtoBet; its igaming content and aggregation platform, Pariplay; and its proprietary content and turn-key B2B gaming solutions, NeoGames is well positioned to increase our addressable market opportunities, and further expand our services to our North American customers.”

The combined company will be led by Malul, who will continue as CEO, along with Raviv Adler as Chief Financial Officer. Meanwhile, Tsachi Maimon, current Aspire CEO, will join NeoGames as President and will lead a newly formed igaming division. The current board of directors is remaining in place with no changes.

Maimon, as with the rest of Aspire’s board, has been supportive of the takeover throughout the transaction process, stating that the merger will ‘create a leading global supplier for the entirety of the igaming and ilottery space overnight’.

On today’s announcement, Maimon remarked: “We at Aspire Global are extremely excited to join the NeoGames team to execute on our mutual goals following the completion of this transaction. 

“We view this transaction as the natural next step for our company, as we further enhance our scale and competitive position across all business lines. We believe both companies are well positioned to mutually grow our two platforms and execute on our strategic initiatives. 

“Not only is this a strategic fit, it is also a strong cultural fit, as significant parts of both management teams worked together extensively during NeoGames’ inception.”