Betsson aims to raise SEK500m to support future growth

Gambling operator Betsson has announced plans to issue a new senior unsecured bond with an expected initial minimum volume of SEK500m (£41.6m/€46.7m/$51.4m) to support its ongoing growth and expansion strategy.

Betsson has instructed joint bookrunners Nordea and Swedbank to arrange investor meetings to investigate the possibility of the bond issue.

“We have the ambition to grow, organically and through acquisitions,” Betsson’s president and chief executive Pontus Lindwall explained. “This should be done in a profitable and sustainable manner, primarily in locally regulated markets and we continuously evaluate additional markets to grow in.

“With this planned bond issue, we secure financial flexibility to execute our long-term strategy.”

Should Betsson opt to proceed with the plans, the bond would run with a tenor of three years, subject to market conditions.

The news comes after Betsson in July revealed a 5% year-on-year decline in revenue for the second quarter of 2019, primarily due to struggles in the Nordic region and the Netherlands.

Revenue for the three months to June 30, 2019 fell to SEK1.3bn, while, after financial expenses of SEK14.7m and taxes of SEK10.5m, Betsson’s profit for the quarter stood at SEK171.6m, down 37%.

However, the operator’s performance over the first six months of 2019 made for better reading, with revenue up 2% to SEK2.6bn. Gross profit, after the cost of services stood at SEK1.8bn, down marginally year-on-year.