This step now allows for HeadsUp to complete and finalize definitive agreements for the full acquisition of Spinola and its related companies. The buyout of these shares was imperative for the business to acquire 100% of the company and its assets, which include licenses to operate across various European, Latin America and other regulated markets. The financial terms of the purchase have not been disclosed.
The full acquisition of Spinola is an integral part of HeadsUp’s global strategy across the Charity, Lottery and Gaming space. The takeover of the brand is expected not only to enable HeadsUp to expand into new markets but also to execute on its existing strategies with its full range of Lottery, Instant Win and charitable fundraising solutions.
Independent valuations completed by HeadsUp concluded that the value of the agreements currently in place has the potential to generate more than US$150 million in revenues, with further room to expand on this with new contracts currently under negotiations.
"The value of the Spinola acquisition is substantial, with management of HeadsUp engaging two independent valuations during the Due Diligence process that came in at US$65 million and US$72 million," the company explained.
Spinola's current contracts span from key market operations in Colombia, Peru, Brazil and other Latin American markets. “These regions represent the strongest growth for lotteries and one of the biggest opportunities for Spinola/HeadsUp," the company claims. In addition to Latin America, Spinola has new projects scheduled for release in Q4 2022 in 6 African nations and a first-time National Lottery product in The United Arab Emirates.
Spinola stated it has already entered into partnerships with Brazilian operators, taking advantage of its new solutions aimed at Latin America: Lottery Management System, Global / Custom Lotteries, Instant Games and digital scratch cards. This move to conquer the LatAm market, specifically in Brazil, came at the end of 2020, with much excitement coming from new regulations and the Brazilian lottery market opening its doors to new providers.
The company predicts that the Latin American market will grow exponentially over the next 3-5 years, with studies suggesting that, once Brazil becomes a regulated market, it should occupy third place in the global industry.
“Brazil continues to be a country that has great potential, but has not been realized in several sectors, one of which is online gambling. In comparison, Colombia's state lotteries have grown to become the main player in the game in Latin America, with 15 different regional lotteries in operation today. But Brazil has the potential to surpass Colombia and gain the status of the most powerful country in Latin America when it comes to online gambling. Our new partnerships with Brazilian lottery operators will give our company the right roots to grow with Brazil as it reaches the next stage in the market," said Business Development Manager, Manuel Santos.
The recent acquisition of LotteryHUB in June this year, when partnered with Spinola's products and services, will now see LotteryHub become "the world's first global lottery marketplace solution with key partnerships being sought for various European, Asia Pacific and US-based operations," HeadsUp claims.
“The global lottery industry is currently generating approximately $300 billion in annual revenues and 95% of these transactions still take place through physical retail outlets," the HeadsUp team points out. “With the increase in online and e-commerce activity globally, this represents an exceptional growth opportunity as more state and national operations move into the online space as a natural progression to their existing business models."
It is expected that the value of online activity across the globe will reach 15-20% over the coming years, thus representing a potential market share opportunity of approximately US$45-60 billion in annual online lottery transactions.
“HeadsUp is now excited to begin to announce a substantial number of contracts through the Spinola deal that represent the previously announced anticipated revenues and earnings plus additional contracts that management has closed over the past 45 days," the company stated.
HeadsUp Entertainment International will now be facilitating its requirements of filing fully audited financial statements, and then filing a Registration Statement, with all information required by the regulators, including the Alberta Securities Commission. This will allow for the consolidation of these and other assets soon to be announced through acquisition into a fully reporting vehicle, which is expected to have the required assets and revenues to qualify for a full NASDAQ listing.
Source: GMB
