by Renee Israel
The London trading Playtech Limited announced a major acquisition that
should put this software group at the head of the online bingo industry.
Playtech will pay up to £36 million to acquire Virtue Fusion, the online
bingo software provider that powers top brands, including William Hill Bingo,
Virgin Bingo, Sky Bingo, Mecca Bingo and Ladbrokes Bingo.
All in all, Virtue Fusion has over 20 licensees and reported a 52 percent
increase in turnover last year, making it a lucrative asset for the existing
Playtech brands.
"The acquisition places Playtech in the leading position in international
online bingo markets, complementing our leading position in poker and casino,
and following the GTS acquisition, as a content provider," said Mor Weizer,
Chief Executive Officer of Playtech.
"It reflects our ongoing commitment to provide licensees with a comprehensive
portfolio of best of breed gaming products," he added.
"In a number of newly regulated markets, bingo is an embedded part of the
social and gaming culture and a product which finds early favour with
regulators," said Weizer. "Consequently, we see this acquisition not only
furthering what is already Playtech's competitive advantage in the growing
online gaming markets as a whole, but as having the potential to generate
meaningful opportunities in newly regulated markets."
The CEO of Virtue Fusion, Bob McCulloch, said that the group was delighted to
be part of Playtech and was pleased that its operators could now profit from
Playtech's greater international reach.
