Aggressive acquisition strategy

Evolution’s aggressive acquisition strategy in the online casino space has seen the Stockholm-based brand add slots disruptor Nolimit City to its roster after finalizing a deal worth up to €340m ($347m).

upfront consideration of €200m ($204m) cash

The total price tag of the finalized acquisition, which was announced in a news release Monday, was comprised of an upfront consideration of €200m ($204m) cash, plus an earn-out cash stream attached to Nolimit’s 2022, 2023, and 2024 EBITDA capped at €140m ($143m). Malta-based Nolimit City took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce details of the buyout, which was first announced back in June:

With all the regulatory approval boxes ticked and the transaction officially signed off, Evolution can start leveraging the appeal of Nolimit City, the online slots developer with a critically acclaimed reputation for producing unique and controversial slots.

Back in June, Evolution’s chairman Jens von Bahr spoke of Nolimit’s rapid rise in popularity due to its sense of humor and “unique style of slots, sometimes with dark themes.”

Viva la difference

Nolimit gives Evolution’s online casino stable a genuine stand-out brand in a sea of relative sameness. In VegasSlotsOnline News’s Slots of the Week, the envelope-pushing Nolimit has been on the podium over 20 times since the roundup first started.

In Evolution’s recently published financial report for January to June 2022, CEO Martin Carlesund singled Nolimit out for upcoming games “on the 2022 roadmap,” weeks before the transaction closed.

“We want to be better, we want to deliver more, we want to run faster — that is who we are. The world is changing but we stand strong,” the CEO said.

In referencing a changing world and Nolimit in the same breath, Carlesund was acknowledging the latter’s ability to tap into what a growing segment of the online casino market wants, which is unique and controversial slots with something of a storyline.

In a VegasSlotsOnline News exclusive last month, Nolimit’s chief commercial officer and managing director Malcolm Mizzi summed up his brand’s approach when discussing Folsom Prison. “It isn’t your everyday fruit/fish slot. It has a darker theme, which includes inmates sizzling up in the electric chair.”

All part of the strategy

Nolimit joins a roster of other digital gaming acquisitions that underscore Evolution’s single-minded strategy of “being the world’s number one provider of online casino games.” Key buyouts in the past two years include Red Tiger, NetEnt, and Big Time Gaming.

expect grueling crimes, a secret double life, and one hell of a traffic jam”

Carlsund previously stated his firm didn’t want to “give too much away” about what the rest of 2022 holds for online casino players. He did, however, place the ball in Nolimit’s court when he said players could “expect grueling crimes, a secret double life, and one hell of a traffic jam.”