| Tue 21 Sep 2010, 11:35 | | PPE - Purple Capital Limited - Acquisition of Powerbet Gaming |
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PPE
PPE
PPE - Purple Capital Limited - Acquisition of Powerbet Gaming
Purple Capital Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1998/013637/06)
Share code: PPE ISIN: ZAE000071411
Acquisition of Powerbet Gaming
Purple Capital has entered into an agreement to acquire a significant majority
stake in Powerbet Gaming (Pty) Ltd ("Powerbet") which operates the recently
launched, but extensively advertised and well known sports betting website
VOLTBET.COM. Powerbet does so under a bookmakers license issued by the Western
Cape Gambling and Racing Board.
Following two years of planning, VOLTBET.COM was launched at the end of May 2010
and has since enjoyed extensive advertising exposure as a result of a strategic
alliance with Primedia, its exclusive marketing partner. Client sign ups have
been very encouraging, in a growing market in South Africa, especially following
the decrease in the number of internet gaming alternatives as a result of the
recent controversy surrounding the legality of online casinos. Online sports
betting, on the other hand, is legal and highly regulated. Providing, as it
does, an attractive alternative to the punter who until not very long ago, had
to walk into a bookmakers premises to place a bet.
The parallels between sports betting and financial trading houses are clear:
clients trade on an outcome in the immediate future - "sports on weekends,
markets during the week". The respective client bases sit side by side and, in
fact, there is a large overlap. Internationally, particularly in the UK, a
number of financial trading houses own and operate their own sports betting
businesses. The model is clear: more turnover, more profit.
Sports betting and financial clients alike all require a safe, reliable, real
time place to trade the markets, the matches, the outcomes. Global Trader
provides this already in financial markets, and Powerbet does the same for
sports betting. As such, the acquisition is seen to be an ideal expansion of
Global Trader. Powerbet will to a large extent be an operational extension of
Global Trader - both companies have state-of-the-art online trading platforms,
effective marketing strategies and prudent risk management at the heart of the
business models. The cross selling opportunities between the client bases and
the synergistic benefits to the Purple Capital Group are obvious.
The effective date of the transaction is 1 October 2010 with the transaction
subject to only such regulatory and other approvals as may be required.
The acquisition falls below the thresholds of category 1 and 2 transactions as
defined in the JSE Listings Requirements - this is therefore a voluntary
announcement, not required by the JSE Listings Requirements, and as such the
purchase price and the financial effects are not required to be disclosed
Johannesburg
21 September 2010
Sponsor
KPMG Services(Pty) Limited
Date: 21/09/2010 11:35:03 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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