Cherry AB acquired ¼ of the Highlight Games business

Swedish gambling company Cherry AB has signed an agreement to acquire a 25% stake in the company – gambling developer Highlight Games Limited with the option of further acquiring an additional 26% stake in the company. This deal was made after Cherry finalised the purchase of Malta-based iplatform Come On!

Cherry AB’s revenue in the fourth quarter of 2016 increased by 201% compared to the same period of the last year and amounted to 519.4 million Swedish kronor ($ 57.6 million).

Cherry is a Swedish gambling operator, founded in 1963. It specialises in online casinos and lotteries. The company manages such sites as CherryCasino.com, EuroSlots.com, SpilleAutomater.com and EuroLotto.com. It also operates such gaming companies as Yggdrasil Gaming and its own online casino on the platform of Come On! Last autumn, the company left the UK market. In December 2014 began to provide services for sports betting.

Highlight Games is a gambling software developer company, founded in 2014. The company develops virtual sports games with IP protection for online and retail gambling operators. The SOCCER BET product of the company provides broadcasts of games of major European football leagues.

Cherry acquired 25% of Highlight Games with the option to purchase another 26% of the company in three tranches over the next 18 months. The cost of acquiring the original 25% stake was £ 2.4 million ($ 3.1 million), with 20% received in the form of newly issued shares of Highlight Games, and 5% was bought from existing shareholders.

The board of directors of the Swedish gambling company Cherry AB appointed Anders Holmgren as its CEO. “We believe that Highlight Games has significant potential for development and revenue generation and we can help it to implement gambling technologies in our business direction,” said Cherry CEO Anders Holmgren. “We also believe that their unique product can compete both with games in the field of virtual sports and with traditional slots. Their product can be applied in a variety of markets, which will diversify the sources of income for Cherry.”

Tim Green, CEO of Highlight Games, added, “We are pleased to welcome Cherry as a top investor. Cherry becomes a shareholder in an exciting phase of the company’s development and will become an important strategic partner, as we continue to develop Soccer Bet and other our products for online and mobile customers.