Rival companies NetEnt and Evolution Gaming are getting ready for a multi-billion-dollar acquisition deal. The deal will see an all-stock transaction that will let Evolution Gaming acquire NetEnt for $2.1 billion.

What will the deal look like?

Sweden-based Evolution Gaming is a publicly-traded company on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange. It specializes in B2B online live casino services. NetEnt is a rival firm that is also based in Sweden and trades on the Stockholm exchange. Evolution has offered its rival about $2.12 billion, which adds a 43% premium to NetEnt share price. The offer was closed on Wednesday.

Evolution began in 2006 and currently has eight live gaming studios from where it offers internet casino platforms. It includes live table games where dealers can speak the native language of their customers. The studios are located in Atlantic City, Spain, Belgium, Canada, Romania, Georgia, Malta, and Latvia. It also supplies to over 300 iGaming operators across the globe. Its client list includes the likes of GVC Holdings, Paddy Power, Betfair, PokerStars, Rush Street Interactive, Svenska Spel, William Hill, DraftKings, and 888.

The works of NetEnt

NetEnt specializes in online slots and its game “Narcos” was named as one of the best new slots for 2019. Evolution also has live casino services for Royal Panda, which was counted as one of the best live casinos in 2019. As the two companies combine, they will be in a position to become a global market leader for the online gaming industry.

Evolution Chairman Jens vor Bahr confirmed the global potential of the companies. NetEnt chairman Mathias Hedlund said,

“With Evolution’s position in live casino and NetEnt’s position in online slots, the merged company will be well-positioned to capture significant market shares.”

In a recent interview, Evolution Gaming CEO Martin Carlesund said that the shutdown of land-based casinos due to the coronavirus pandemic could have a lasting impact on the industry. He said that the online evolution in gambling has started and predicted that about 50-70% of the revenue from casinos will come online.